A Game of Chance
by A Reluctant Raconteur
Summary: Light and Mikami are beaten by Near, but the battle isn't over yet. With doubts in Mikami's mind, and plans in Light's, the games are just beginning. A war unending.
1. A Pyrrhic Victory

Light supposed it was no surprise. Time and time again he had been on the boundary of being discovered. He had played the SPK making them believe that he was fully committed to stopping Kira, and played the Japanese Task Force making them believe he was honestly one of them. He had played Rem and made the Death God kill L and Watari. This whole saga had been but a game to Light. He was perfect, the most intelligent detective in Japan, and was to be the ruler of a world that the innocent of society deserved and the scum of society feared. He was Kira. He was God and yet he couldn't believe it. He couldn't understand it. This game… he had lost. It was incomprehensible to a superior being such as himself. He was a hundred steps ahead of Near, a metaphorical flight of stairs constantly separated himself and the child genius. And yet he had lost. How?

"If you can't win the game, if you can't solve the puzzle, you're just a loser." stated Near with a smile on his face. The child detective was obviously quite pleased with these recent turn of events. Not only had Light admitted he was Kira in front of all the SPK, and his task force, but there wasn't anywhere he could go. He would face trial and spend the rest of his time in jail. "Kira" wouldn't see light ever again if he had anything to say about it.

Light blinked in confusion his eyes clearly communicating his inability to comprehend. How? He was perfect, he had instructed Mikami exactly what he needed to for Light to succeed. A God such as himself didn't make mistakes. No… it wasn't Light's fault it was Mikami's, the fool had made a huge error. And now Light was facing the consequences for Mikami's blunder. A cold fury burned within Light with the passion of a raging fire. He couldn't believe it; his plans for a new world were gone. He had so much to accomplish, innumerable problems to fix. So many criminals were still out there! He had to cleanse the world of them. He had yet to fully purge evil from the world. He had yet to become God of the New World! His mind quickly calculated his chances of getting out of this problem. He didn't like his mind's answer.

Light lashed viciously towards Near "You stupid child you have ruined everything!"

He briefly considered resorting to using his scrap of the Death Note in his watch but quickly though better of it. His eyes warily observed Matsuda looking ready to draw his gun. No, Light would let this play out, he wasn't risking injury for a fool's gambit.

"You are not my better!" he screamed viciously at the teenager now smiling at him with childlike glee. He was Kira and he most certainly hadn't been outsmarted by a mere child!

Near cocked his head confused by the killer's words "What do you mean?" Near once again shook his head confused by the world's most dangerous criminal "I have beaten you Kira and thus I am obviously your better."

The child smiled once again at Japan's former brightest student. It was obvious that he was ecstatic about his victory. Finally after what was perhaps the most difficult puzzle he had every tackled he had put the pieces together and proven that Light Yagami was Kira. He briefly frowned considering the costs of this achievement. L, Matt, Mello, Raye Penber, Naomi Misora, Sochiro Yagami, and countless others had died as a result of Kira's machinations and scheming. However his smile quickly returned for now he had the killer where he wanted him. Light would be arrested and face lawful prosecution in a court of law. He would be tried, he would be sentenced and he would carry out that sentence in the world's most secure prison. Kira would never kill again and Light Yagami would live to regret his mistakes.

Light ground his teeth in frustration he could see it now, him in a court of law answering for his crimes. The only thing he was guilty of was protecting the innocent and cleansing the world. He was baptising it from its sins. He smiled at the prospect "Kira on Trial" now that would be the trial of the century. If he could get a competent Lawyer and manage to express himself he could either get himself declared innocent by a sympathetic jury or sent to jail and labelled a martyr. No, this wasn't the end of Kira. No this this wasn't victory for Near. This wasn't justice, for he was Kira and Kira is justice and justice always wins. With his plans firmly rooted into his head Light grinned at Near and raised his hands high in the air.

"Well come on **L** , I haven't got all day," Light smirked at Near "don't worry I don't have any tricks up my sleeve."

Regardless of his promises Light could see Near's trepidation about approaching the was understandable, a rapid mood swing such as this could easily be a forewarning of a trap.

Once again Light spoke "You see this is why you can never be L's successor" Light smiled as Near visibly bristled at the comment. Any sign of weakness from the child was enough for Light to exploit. "L wasn't a coward unlike you!"

This proved to be the straw that broke the camel's back as the young boy quickly ordered Light's arrest. Light could feel their gazes on his back and calmly met the stares of the SPK members whose aggression and hate of him was visible through their irises. He smiled at all of them. They were but sheep that had gone astray and he was the shepherd. Even Near could be redeemed. Each of them were evil for trying to destroy Kira and his justice and they would face punishment for their actions but Kira was a merciful God. He would allow all of them to live in the utopia of his making. Yes he could see it now all of them begging for forgiveness. However that was the future and this was the present. Light Yagami was a hard-working man and he most certainly would not be slacking off in his latest endeavour. After all he was creating a perfect world one step at a time.

Suddenly a burst of movement could be seen as several of the SPK members inspected Mikami's body. To their complete surprise the cadaver was moving. Mikami wasn't dead. Even though he had impaled himself with a ball point pen the man seemed to have survived and was still breathing.

The man's hand raised up futiley, and he seemed quite unaware of what was going on, and tried speaking although it came out as a hoarse whisper "God?"

Despite their intelligence for a brief moment the SPK were struck with indecisiveness. It would be so easy to finish the prosecutor now and no one would mention it again. However the SPK team still possessed mercy and kindness despite the trials that they had faced. They turned to Near for guidance.

L's true successor briefly pondered the consequences of Mikami's survival. He certainly would have to keep an eye on both of them. Not only did Light now have his most intelligent and fanatical accomplice by his side, but he also had an experienced criminal prosecutor on his side. This trial was shaping up to be more trouble than it was worth.

"Arrest Mikami as well, we have sufficient evidence to convict him as the Fourth Kira." Near ordered as the child inspected the fanatic. "Get him stabilised, we need him alive for the trial."

A certain Shinigami stood on a building overhead watching the SPK carry the handcuffed Kiras to a vehicle to be taken away. He briefly considered ending Light's life right then but after seeing Light's smile he thought better of it. Ryuk's eyes twinkled at the prospect of more entertainment.

"Humans" the Shinigami mused "always so interesting." He quickly scanned the area, he would find Light in a few moments but first he had more pressing concerns. There was a market nearby and that meant only one thing to the Shinigami.

"Apples!" the Death God shouted as he flew with the speed of a thousand gazelles towards the market. Light could wait, a Death God has his priorities.


	2. A Disciple Without His Messiah

Mikami's mind only registered pain and rejection. He was barely conscious and could hear the mumble of various voices and the droning of machines keeping him alive. However he neither cared nor wanted to live; he had failed his God! Mikami couldn't even begin to express the loathing and revulsion he felt towards both himself and the SPK team. His God had tasked him with his most important mission and not only had Mikami failed, but Mikami's mistake had most certainly doomed his God. Worse yet from what little information he was taking in from his surroundings his suicide attempt had failed as well.

Never had the prosecutor felt as hopeless as he felt now. He had been in charge of some of the biggest cases in Japan; he had led the prosecution against some of Japan's most notorious and vile criminals. He always knew what he had to say, always knew how to rebut a comment, and always knew how to condemn a man with but a sentence. However Mikami, for the first time in his life, was speechless. He didn't like this at all. His voice and superior intellect were the third and second most important things in his life, with his God being the first. God, the very word made Mikami feel self-hatred again. For his failure he deserved to die. He would beg for forgiveness as soon as he saw him. But what if he was dead? What is he didn't accept his apology? Such thoughts scared Mikami who expressed his emotions with one word.

"No." the former civil servant rasped, his voice a shadow of its former self. His hand futilely raised in an attempt to stop whatever he feared. However it weakly fell limp and slumped against the bed he was resting upon.

This sudden sign of life and movement alerted the nurse who was monitoring the ECG monitor that Mikami was hooked up to. The infusion pump attached to his right arm continued to pump the vital red liquid of life into Mikami's veins. The nurse was astonished, not only had the man managed to stab himself and lose forty percent of his blood, with a ball point pen no less, but the man was now conscious and speaking! She was surprised he was still alive never mind moving and speaking, albeit not with much vigour, most patients who have suffered these kinds of wounds don't ever awaken. This either proved that the man either had a lot to live for or he had God on his side, the latter of which would have pleased Mikami immensely. Never the less the nurse quickly recovered from the shock of seeing the patient move and called the doctor. He would want to see this for himself.

Mikami could vaguely hear footsteps followed by rapid, hushed whispers. From what little he could discern in his disorientated state of mind there seemed to be two people in the room with him. He wondered where he was for a brief moment before quickly ceasing that activity; thinking hurt. His eyes had yet to open but he still possessed excellent hearing, and so the once class president was able to face the pair locked in conversation. He tried to attract their attention by raising his hand but once again the limb refused to cooperate and fell uselessly by his side. However the grunt of frustration caused by this failure seemed to have alerted the pair that the patient was conscious.

Mikami finally willed his eyes to open and observe his surroundings. He was blinded for a moment, after being closed for so long it seemed his eyes were quite unused to light. After the obscuring whiteness clouding his vision had finally faded Mikami observed his environment. It didn't take long for him to deduce that he was in a hospital judging from the white uniforms, lights and tiles. The smell of various cleaning agents was another helpful hint. His eyes quickly focused in and narrowed on the two medical practitioners now giving him their rapt attention.

"Where am I?" This question was fairly pointless, and Mikami was aware of that, but the Fourth Kira had to start off conversation somehow. "What happened?" Now this question was far more useful, Mikami was unsure of how long he had been indisposed. It didn't take a genius to guess that he would certainly be a bit out of date in regards to the current goings on of the world.

The doctor took a step forward to speak. He was an average sized middle aged Japanese man. He wore glasses and held a clipboard in his right hand. The man's face possessed a pronounced nose and had very noticeable worry lines upon his forehead. Mikami surmised that the man was either stressed in general or perhaps stressed by Mikami himself. The doctor moved his neck nervously to one side and bit his lips for a few seconds before recomposing himself. It seemed that whatever bout of fear had overcome him was dispelled as a result of years of experience in his profession. In a last nervous gesture he anxiously cleared his throat as he prepared to speak.

"You are in Tokyo Saiseikai Central Hospital" said the doctor as he gestured to his surroundings to corroborate his statement. "You were injured badly by your suicide attempt with a…" The doctor held up his clipboard to inspect Mikami's medical data "… a ball point pen." The doctor looked up at Mikami with a mixture of shock and disbelief before continuing "You spent nearly a week in a coma until you woke up today."

The doctor brought up his right arm to inspect his watch "It is now 9:35 am and the date is Sunday the third of February 2013." The doctor paused to observe Mikami's reaction but the prosecutors face gave nothing away.

"You are very weak currently and nearly died twice as a result of two cardiac arrests," the doctor attempted to lighten the mood "we very nearly thought that Kira had it out for you." His attempt to bring humour into the situation failed miserably, Mikami still stared at him seriously, thirsting for more knowledge. This knowledge however was something the doctor was quite unable of providing.

Mikami took a moment to process the knowledge he had received. It was Sunday? The thought made Mikami want to laugh, how poetic no rest for the wicked or rather, in his case, the righteous. However, was he truly righteous after failing his God? He would ponder these thoughts at a later time; Mikami had more pressing concerns like ascertaining the location of his God and making his way to him. However Mikami could tell that the doctor had expended, in Mikami's opinion, his quite limited reservoir of information. Mikami opened his mouth to speak.

"What happened to the police who brought me here?" asked Mikami still pondering recent events. Even in his current state he was still creating plans, constructing blue-prints inside his head. Mikami wasn't as smart perhaps as Near, Light or L but he certainly rivalled Mello in several ways. It wasn't for nothing that his God had made him his right hand. Until his recent blunder Mikami had been the most formidable and intelligent of the Kira accomplices. It seemed, judging by the reactions on the medical staff's faces, that they had been warned of the danger he presented. This time the nurse, perhaps to save her colleague from more stress, took a step forward to speak.

The nurse didn't look Mikami in the eye "You were brought here by a group of… what are their names? Ah yes, you were brought here by SPK agents or some such nonsense." Once again the nurse opened her mouth to speak "There are two agents outside now actually, perhaps they would like to speak to you?" she trembled slightly almost afraid of Mikami's response.

Mikami observed her reaction, he wondered if she knew that he was a Kira accomplice. Possible, but highly unlikely; Kira currently possessed a high social standing within world. He ,or they rather, were respected by a staggering six to one ratio of people. Or at least that is what the latest trends and statistics had pointed to. If Mikami was a betting man, which he wasn't as betting was a sin in his eyes; he would guess that outrage would be massive if a Kira suspect was being held in a hospital against his will. No… the risk would be too great for the SPK team to risk; to the pair currently talking to him he was just an ordinary, probably quite dangerous, criminal.

Mikami spoke again "Where are these agents?" He briefly paused to consider his words "I think that I would like to speak to them as well."

The nurse seemed quite startled by his answer and turned to her colleague for guidance, after a slow but sharp affirmative nod by the other man in the room the two left to get the two agents. The nurse all but scurried out of the room while the doctor quickly exited as well. It seemed the both of them were petrified of Mikami. The thought made the attorney frown slightly. He wasn't a threat to them, they didn't know it but he was making the world a better place. This flash of sadness was gone as quickly as it came and once again Mikami was focused on the task at hand.

The pair of agents entered swiftly with the blonde haired women all but stomping in while her comrade was far more composed and cool befitting of his profession. Mikami immediately didn't like this woman, her attitude and disrespect were abhorrent in his eyes. He had yet to pass judgement on her partner however. The women once again aggressively made her way to the side of his bed. She lowered her face to all but a couple of inches away.

"Kira, I see you finally woke up" the woman spat at him "you certainly took your time." The women once again spoke "What was the matter? You need your beauty sleep or something?" The woman seemed quite pleased with herself smirking at Mikami arrogantly.

Mikami was at first shocked by the women's disrespect and then annoyed with her juvenile insult. However the straw the broke the camel's back was that the woman had literally spat on him. Mikami was outraged at this and immediately came up with a plan to deal with this blatant disrespect. The lawyer began mumbling inaudibly underneath his breath attempting to incite the woman to lean closer. According to plan the woman leaned in to try and hear what Mikami was saying, she was soon surprised by the lawyer raising his head to meet her eyes. And to her chagrin the man spat straight into her eyes and leaned back down. It seemed that Mikami had successfully avenged his ego and he quietly rested his head back on the bed.

The man, having foreseen the consequences of Mikami's act of retaliation, quickly pulled his partner out of the way so as to keep the Kira suspect out of harm's way. Having been her partner for several years, even before being assigned to the Kira cases, he was aware of her rage and temper. He fondly remembered what his mother had told him "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned" and quickly ordered her to cool off outside while he spoke with her newest nemesis. After the woman stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind her, he turned to face the man lying in the bed.

The agent began "Sorry about my partner she's a bit…" before he could finish his sentence he was cut off.

"Rude, disrespectful, intolerable, disgusting, vulgar, vile and insufferable." finished Mikami with an angered look on his face he most certainly wasn't amused by this woman's antics. Mikami's lips were curled upwards in a sneer, he most certainly wasn't happy about his treatment.

The agent clearly understood that perhaps Mikami wasn't in a good mood and would rather appreciate being informed of his situation. He swept back his hair and began to speak.

"Near has ordered that we bring you as soon as possible to the SPK headquarters in Japan, do you believe that you are fit for travel?" asked the man. He seemed concerned for Mikami as he scanned the prosecutor's current physical condition. Once again he looked up but to his surprise Mikami was looking him straight in the eye. Despite his experience with criminals the agent had to admit he was slightly unnerved.

Mikami picked up upon the agent's concern for him. Perhaps there was a Kira sympathiser in the ranks of the SPK. Mikami realised the tactical benefits of such a fortune and filed away the knowledge in his head for future reference. This agent could be very useful for himself and, more importantly, his God. Wordlessly he nodded affirming that he was capable of getting up and travelling. Mikami weakly stood up grasping on to the railing of his bed for support. The agent steadied Mikami and then hand cuffed the man leading him to an outside marked vehicle which would take Mikami to his God.

Mikami frowned once again; he had extremely vital knowledge which he needed to get to his God. Beside the fact that Mikami had potentially found a Kira sympathiser he also had other things to tell him, but he would wait until he saw him. Perhaps Mikami had nearly doomed his God but if he could speak to him again, Mikami was confident he could save him.


	3. Confession of Sins

Mikami made his way, slowly, toward the vehicle. He could hear that insufferable woman behind him. She was on his heels like a hell hound, Mikami wasn't surprised after the way he offended her earlier, but the man certainly wasn't sorry for the way he had treated her. "What comes around goes around", or so they say. Mikami continued his trudge towards the vehicle. It seemed to be a van of some description, probably armoured to protect the occupants. Mikami wondered if there was any point to bringing him in an armoured vehicle, as far as he could tell that would only make him stand out.

In all likelihood Near would want to avoid as much publicity as possible, at least until the trial. Undoubtedly the trial itself would get is publicity. Never before had Mikami heard such drivel. Trial, Mikami wasn't a criminal and his God most certainly wasn't a criminal! To reflect his change in mood Mikami's eyebrow furrowed and his almost omnipresent frown became more pronounced.

Mikami clumsily clambered into the armoured van, as he struggled the women all but shoved him upwards in the vehicle. Once again Mikami's mood became even sourer; the woman had some nerve to treat him in this way! He was the right hand of a God! However, to his relief, the male agent ordered the woman to drive. It seemed that the male agent would be sitting in the back of the vehicle with him. Uncharacteristically Mikami smiled upon this thought, the agent noticed this and smiled back.

Once both of the men were seated the male agent began to speak "I never really got to introduce myself," he pointed him thumb to his chest "name's Cody Barnes." The agent looked to Mikami for some form of acknowledgement. He received it, Mikami nodded.

"I am Mikami Teru," Mikami began before pausing "but I suppose you already know that." The prosecutor finished. The agent nodded affirming Mikami's suspicions.

The agent spoke once more "My partner's name is Eva Hall; sorry about her attitude towards you she lost her father to Kira." He frowned apologetically.

This did little to assuage Mikami's hatred of the woman. If her father had been killed by Kira either he was working against his God or he was a criminal. There was a chance he could have been killed by Higuchi. However even so this was no excuse for her attitude, however Mikami chose to keep silent about his thoughts. After all this man was could potentially be a useful ally to Mikami and his God. Mikami lay his head back upon the headrest slowly and closed his eyes, barely listening to the man speaking about of multitude of inane things. As he felt himself slowly drift off to sleep he wondered if his God was fairing any better than he was now. With that last question in his head Mikami fell in restful oblivion.

* * *

Light Yagami, for one of the very few times he could recall in his life, was at his wit's end. His cell was incredibly dull, white tiles, white sinks and white walls. Everything was white. Light smiled slightly, it was often said the white represented purity and holiness. What better place for a God to reside in during one of his greatest battles. He was at war against Near and the SPK team. He was also at war with Ryuk somewhat, the Death God had made his way into the cell thirty minutes ago. Five minutes were all it took for Light to become enraged by the Shinigami's antics. The next twenty five minutes were just torture. Light had been subjected to his prattling for five years but somehow this felt worse than the previous five years multiplied by a factor of ten.

The Shinigami floated beside Light "Hey Light, you got any apples?" the Shinigami started talking again "Hey Light don't ignore me, there aren't any cameras overlooking this cell."

Light perked up at this information, no cameras? Such a rookie mistake was something that Light could easily capitalise on, but he was no fool, Near was counting on him to try and escape. He knew not what the child detective was planning but he wasn't going to spring his trap. As he pondered what to do next Ryuk floated toward Light again.

"So Light, got any apples?" Ryuk asked again. The Shinigami was desperate for apples. At this point he would even eat one from the Shinigami realm. "Come on Light, I need an apple!" To Light's amusement the Shinigami was comically waving his hands in the air.

"Ryuk, do you know where we are?" asked Light hiding his agenda from the God of Death. Clearly Japan's top student was thinking of something.

The Death God was mildly confused but answered "We are in a jail cell Light." The man nodded at the Shinigami indicating that he was right.

"Do you know what that means Ryuk?" he asked the Shinigami. However before Ryuk could answer, Light answered himself "It means I don't have control over where I go or what I eat!"

"So Light, what do you mean?" asked Ryuk still not fully understanding the implications of the situation he and Light were in.

Light sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose before standing up and speaking "It means that I neither have an apple to give you nor can I go and get one!"

It seemed that finally the Shinigami understood his "dire" situation. As he immediately began screaming and yelling. Ryuk flew several laps around the jail cell before collapsing in the corner mumbling to himself about the unfairness of life. Light once again sighed at the Death God's senselessness before turning to look out the window in his cell. From what he could discern about the cell's particular layout, and window facing the street below he guessed that this room wasn't a purpose built cell. Perhaps Near had had the room converted to hold him. This could explain the lack of cameras. However he still wasn't willing to risk anything yet, he saw an armoured van pulling up outside the headquarters. He couldn't perfectly see who the occupants were as they exited the back of the vehicle. His concentration was once again interrupted by Ryuk.

The Shinigami's legs were twisted and he was doing a handstand in the middle of the room. "Light, the withdrawal symptoms." the Shinigami comically groaned "they are starting!"

Light stared at the Shinigami for a brief moment before facing the iron bars of his cell. The sooner the trial began the better.

* * *

Mikami awoke and quickly looked around surveying the area. It seemed that Barnes had fallen asleep as well judging by the quiet snoring coming from the other man. Mikami glanced at the holster for the man's weapon, even when handcuffed Mikami could manoeuvre his hands enough to get the weapon. Mikami shot the idea down immediately, he fought against criminals. To kill the man, who himself seem to sympathise with Kira, and his rude partner would make him no better than those he wished to cleanse the world of. He patiently waited for Barnes to wake up, during which time he tried to figure out what time it was. Luckily Barnes seemed to be stirring, so Mikami wouldn't have to wait long until his companion in this moving cage would wake up.

The SPK agent finally looked up groggily clearly disorientated before seeing Mikami intently staring at him. For a brief moment he was confused, before remembering the other man was always like that. He smiled at Mikami before scratching the back of his head sheepishly.

"I guess I fell asleep as well, eh?" asked Barnes with mirth in his voice. "I got to be careful about falling asleep on the job or else I might get reprimanded, or worse I could be fired." Mikami wasn't particularly amused by the man's joking but politely smiled at him before nodding.

"Yes, with your line of work I would say you are tired all the time" Mikami stated, at this point he was trying to make conversation to pass the time.

"Oh it isn't that bad." assured Barnes as the agent once again began to engage in conversation "in fact I quite enjoy my work."

Mikami decided that now was a good time to see where the man's sympathies lay. He nonchalantly agreed "Yes, I quite enjoy my work as well."

He scrutinised the agent's face, already he could see the agent slightly nodding with a grim look on his face. Mikami was satisfied with the agent's response and lay back into his seat. He wished his God was here, he was a much better people person. To be frank all this conversation was tiring Mikami out. Perhaps if he was at ease he could better converse, but at the moment he was so on edge that he was certain any sudden movements could set him off. He took a deep breath. Mikami knew that he needed to calm himself. At this point in time all that mattered was that he found his God nothing else. Suddenly the van came to a stop; Mikami jolted forward slightly and muttered something unintelligible in anger.

"Hey, there are people back here you know?" Barnes said sarcastically to Agent Hall in the front. He turned and looked at Mikami "Well here is where we get off." He stood up to open the door.

Mikami could hear the slam of the front door as the insufferable female agent stormed off. Obviously the woman held a grudge against him and wished to get away as soon as possible. During this time Barnes stood against the door of the van. Mikami finally observed the man and took in his features, neat hair, small nose and a small scar on his chin. The man nervously swept back his black hair before turning to face Mikami. He quickly leaned in close to Mikami to speak to the prosecutor.

"I respect Kira and his methods, if you need any help just ask." whispered the man quietly only loud enough for Mikami to hear. Mikami nodded at the man's admission, he was right the man was going to be quite useful.

Barnes opened the backdoor of the van and both men exited the vehicle and made their way towards the building. It took all of Mikami's self-control to not sprint towards the building. His God was close, he was certain of it. However, despite his anger about having to do so, he walked at a normal pace towards the headquarters matching his stride to Barnes.

Once they entered Mikami was surprised by the "welcoming party", at least ten men all armed watched Mikami as he walked in. Mikami had to laugh at the uselessness of the gesture. Mikami was in no way a fighter. Well at least not to the extent they were preparing for. He couldn't overwhelm Barnes in his current state, never mind ten other men. It seems Near was taking extra precautions to get him where ever he wanted him. Needless to say Mikami was quickly ushered to the elevator with Cody and three other men getting in the elevator with him. The tension in the elevator was almost palpable; it seemed that the three other men had a mutual dislike for Mikami.

The tallest of the three new men in the elevator spoke up "Well Kira?" he looked into Mikami's eyes "How does it feel to have lost?" Despite not being particularly funny, to Mikami at least, the other men excluding Barnes found it quite funny and chortled loudly.

Mikami looked at the man who had spoken; he had a dark complexion with blue eyes and shaved black hair. He looked particularly young, if Mikami was to hazard a guess he would say the man was just out of his teens. He could tell that the man had lost someone to Kira; he knew the look in his eye anywhere. Unfortunately this man was the second person to draw Mikami's ire that day. Mikami cleared his throat.

"Who did you lose to Kira?" he asked the man now meeting his stare with a fiery glance of his own.

The taller man looked incensed before saying "You killed my father." The cold fury was beginning to warm up in the man it wouldn't be long before the metaphorical iceberg would transform into a volcano of emotions.

Mikami nodded before speaking again "Was your father a criminal?" he looked up to meet the tall man's glance again.

The man looked slightly flustered by the question before his fury overcame him again "My father made a few mistakes when he was younger."

Mikami once again nodded before asking another question "What did your father do?"

The man looked slightly sad "He accidentally killed a man while robbing a bank." the man now seemed to want to justify his father "He wanted to provide for us, we were having a hard time paying the bills."

Mikami looked up at the man before maniacally grinning at him "I have no regrets; your father is burning in hell where he belongs!"

The tall man was incensed; he grabbed Mikami by the collar and punched Mikami viciously in the nose. By some miracle it didn't break but it was certainly flowing with blood. He then punched Mikami in the gut and went to strangle the prosecutor before his colleagues wrestled him away from Mikami. When the man looked up at Mikami the lawyer was still smiling at him, worse yet he actually began laughing at him! Mikami couldn't control himself, something about this man had unhinged him and he couldn't help but laugh at the man. He was nothing but a boy with "daddy issues" trying desperately to bring honour to his family name and wipe away the shame his father had wrought. Something about his predicament was so comical to the prosecutor that he couldn't help laugh at him. To the sane person the man's situation would have been depressing, and his attempt to bring honour to his family name admirable. Mikami was many things loyal, intelligent, quick witted and polite. However there was one thing Mikami was not… sane.

When the elevator door mercifully opened Mikami was grabbed by Barnes, and all but dragged through the door. To Barne's horror Mikami was still laughing even as the blood soaked his white shirt. Not only that, but Mikami's laugh was getting louder! He had to get the man to his cell quickly before the lawyer terrified the entire floor. Mikami responded to his increased pace and likewise increased his speed. At this point Mikami was crying from how much he was laughing.

Barnes had to admit he was terrified of the man's current actions. And suddenly as quickly as the bout of malicious laughter had begun it had ceased. Whatever momentary madness that had overcome Mikami had vanished. Mikami seemed either quite unfazed by his previous loss of composure or perhaps completely unaware of it. Both of these possibilities equally disturbed Barnes. It had occurred to him that the Fourth Kira wasn't in the best state of mind, considering his suicide attempt, but he had failed to realise just how severe the situation was. His thought process was interrupted by Mikami waving at him to gain his attention; he filed away his thoughts to be pondered later.

Mikami twisted to look at Barnes "I find it quite surprising that you were so willing to give out you and your partner's names, I am certain you were informed that Kira can kill with but a name and a face." Not that it mattered to Mikami, having made the Shinigami eye deal he could confirm that their names were real.

Barnes, seemingly glad that Mikami was acting normally again, began speaking "All SPK agents were informed by Near that you were capable of discerning a person's name by looking at them." He looked at looked at the door ahead leading to the cells "So I didn't really need to introduce myself and Eva, but I thought it would be bad manners not to." He stopped at the door "Besides, I was hoping you wouldn't find a reason to kill me."

Mikami followed Barnes inside the room. He quietly stepped towards the cell the agent was indicating to. Mikami's breathing halted; there was his God asleep on the bunk bed inside the room. Barnes patted Mikami on the shoulder drawing him out of his stupor. He brought out the key to Mikami's hand cuffs and unlocked the cell door for Mikami. He reached inside his top pocket and handed the prosecutor a hanker-chief for his nose.

"Sorry, but you will have to stay here until we extradite you to face trial in whatever country they decide for you be prosecuted in." Barnes apologetically told Mikami however judging from Mikami's expression the lawyer didn't particularly care. Barnes gestured for Mikami to go inside which he did so locking the gate behind the Fourth Kira.

For the second time in his life Mikami was speechless, he didn't know how to approach or speak to his God after his heretical failure. Never before had he felt as ashamed as he did now. How was he worthy to be in his God's divine presence? Before his suicide attempt Mikami would have sat, for hours if necessary, until his God woke up. Mikami however had no time to spare, it was essential his God was updated on the situation as soon as possible! He tentatively shook Light's shoulder careful not to cause his God discomfort but firmly enough to awake the man. It worked as Light began to groggily move and scratch his eyes.

"Ryuk… go away damn it," the genius murmured sleepily "I told you already if you want to get apples you are going to have to go and find them yourself."

Light had yet to awaken properly so Mikami patiently but still firmly shook Light again. This time Light sat up but still wasn't facing Mikami. Mikami actually spent a small amount of time debating with himself whether it was his place to touch his God again. Finally concluding that the benefits of getting his God's attention far outweighed the he once again shook his God. Light swung around looking quite angry before realising it wasn't the troublesome Shinigami as he had thought.

"Mikami," Light asked "when did you get here?" The former detective looked quite startled by the fanatic's sudden appearance.

Mikami was keen to explain to his God "Only moments ago God, I arrived and I noticed you were sleeping." Mikami apologised "I am sorry I awoke you God, however I have information that you may find useful."

Light stared at Miami considering his words before gesturing for him to continue "Go on, elaborate Mikami!"

"I have discovered a Kira sympathiser within the SPK" stated Mikami lowly to avoid prying ear's attention. He felt quite pleased with himself and so was his God judging from the smirk plastering his face.

"Excellent work Mikami!" congratulated Light quietly. "While there is a chance that he could possibly be a trap laid by Near if he is authentic the benefits outweigh the risks tenfold."

 _Light pondered to himself "Yes, this gamble could be especially fortuitous for both us and our agenda."_

Light inspected Mikami, while the lawyer stood tall and straight there was clearly something wrong. His was slightly trembling and his eye seemed to be twitching. Light was quite alarmed by his most loyal subordinate's behaviour and quickly demanded an explanation.

"Mikami," Light asked sternly "what is the matter?" His subordinate all but collapsed to his knees in front of him once again confusing Light.

"My God," begged Mikami "I beseech you; please forgive me for my heretical failure." The lawyer looked ready to cry "I swear to you upon my life, I won't fail you again!"

Light remembered that his subordinates were very different to each other. Misa was loyal, slightly incompetent and infatuated with Light. Mikami, however, was different the prosecutor was loyal to a fault, very intelligent and fanatical. Mikami's failure must have been figuratively eating the lawyer from the inside. It was no wonder the man was an emotional sobbing wreck before him. Mikami's only pillar in his life was Light, his God. Without his approval the foundations of Mikami's character had crumbled, culminating in the dishevelled mess on the floor. He realised that he had to act lest he permanently damage his last loyal and useful accomplice.

"Mikami calm yourself!" ordered Light attempting to repair the situation before it spiralled out of control. "I forgive you, your failure was a serious error but in doing so you have presented us with one of the greatest opportunities we could have ever had!" Light once again tried to assuage his subordinate's fears "If anything Mikami I should be thanking you."

Mikami stood up immediately and recomposed hadn't expected the prosecutor to so quickly recover, with his forgiveness and praise Mikami had all but forgotten his failure. He stared at the second L his eyes showing his gratitude.

"Thank you God," said Mikami the lawyer was now calm having been forgiven by his God "I cannot even begin to express my gratitude."

Light now calmed himself. He had avoided a very difficult situation, and was, to be honest, quite pleased with his handling of the whole predicament. Mikami, at the moment, was Light's only subordinate and with his acquaintances in the Japanese Task Force now aware of his nature; his sister incapable of expressing emotions after being confined to a wheelchair from shock and his mother probably being unable to stand the sight of him after finding out about his true nature Mikami was now Light's only friend. Granted, the man certainly saw Light more like a messiah than a friend, but it was better than nothing. While Mikami treated their relationship like that of Jesus and Peter, Light wished it to be more like that of almost equals. Mikami would always be his accomplice the man had proven himself at least worthy of a smidgen of Light's respect.

Mikami looked up to speak again, this time whispering "My God, I wish to inform you as well that I had previously removed a substantial amount of Death Note pages prior to our capture and hidden them in a safe place." He looked up for his God's approval.

Light's eyes widened at this revelation and his mouth curved in a massive smirk. Yes… Mikami was most certainly the most useful of his accomplices.


	4. A Loss of Innocence

Light nearly laughed, honestly Mikami had really outdone himself this time. The prosecutor had presented Light with two valuable pieces of information, which could be used in a viable plan should the trial not go as Light had intended. For the mean time however he would store the forming plan to be filed away in his head. Light saw serious potential in the trial; if he could take advantage of the average person's love and admiration for Kira it would put the both of them in a good position. Kira, or at least his ideals, were held in high regard by the citizens of the world. At one point crime was a staggering five homicides per hundred people in Tokyo. By those statistics every man, woman or child who took a step outside their house had a five percent change they wouldn't return. It was for these reasons that Light had chosen to use the Death Note. Under his own and Mikami's direction, not to belittle Misa's achievements, crime worldwide had dropped by a staggering seventy percent. And the citizens of the world loved Kira for it; he had gone from being seen as a vengeful or protective spirit to being seen as a celestial being, a God. Indeed this is what Light had always wanted; he hoped to utilise the admiration of the world to clear him of any wrongdoing.

Mikami calmly observed his God; he could tell that his information had truly pleased him. As Mikami surveyed the cell something began to bother him, the lack of cameras. Mikami wasn't stupid, their captor Near was in many ways almost his God's equal, and he certainly was far more intelligent than Mikami himself. If Mikami could notice that there were no cameras the child obviously wouldn't have overlooked it either. The fact, similarly, wouldn't have gone unnoticed by his God. Mikami knew he was being surveyed, perhaps he couldn't prove it at the moment but he knew that he was being watched. He scanned the room hoping that the Shinigami eyes he possessed would pick up upon anything. To Mikami's dismay, he had no such luck. He sighed in frustration attracting the attention of his God. The man stared at the prosecutor's frown and had noticed previously that he was scanning the room.

" _Perhaps he_ _noticed there are no cameras as well" Light thought to himself. "Mikami is intelligent enough to, at the very least, understand Near doesn't make mistakes like this. Such negligence is a vice that Near doesn't indulge in, the child is meticulous in his planning he would not have done this without a reason." Light came to a realisation "What if instead of hiding a camera where it can be seen, he hid it in plain sight!"_

Light patted Mikami on the shoulder and whispered into his ears "I see you have noticed the lack of surveillance as well."

Mikami nodded in response before whispering back "Yes it is very odd, from what little I understand Near doesn't make mistakes like this."

Light growled in irritation at that fact before whispering again "No, he doesn't does he?" He frowned slightly before speaking "I think he has hidden a camera in here but not only that, otherwise Ryuk would have saw it earlier, no he has disguised the camera as something."

Mikami nodded before whispering "What should we do God?" The prosecutor looked to his messiah for guidance.

That question stumped Light as well; he couldn't very well go searching around for it that would tell Near that he was on to his game. No, chances were that it was better to fake cluelessness for now. Certainly they could pretend that the guard posted outside the door could hear what they were saying. This would relax, but not dispel the boy's suspicions for a while; this would give Light time to concoct a plan to dispose of the camera. Before he could do any of that however he had to find the bloody thing. He would probably have to ask Ryuk when the Death God returned but he had no idea when that would be. His began to become lost in his thoughts trying to think of a way to find the camera.

Mikami stared irritably at the fly on the wall the infernal creature was beginning to annoy him and he had only been in the cell for less than an hour. It flew or clung to the wall facing the cell door, always within sight but never within reach. He watched it make another pass of the cell door, before landing near another window outside the actual cell itself. He observed the sun shining from the window reflect- wait... what? Mikami knew for a fact that a fly doesn't reflect sunlight like the one near the window was doing. He looked to the metal bar of the cell; it was reflecting sunlight in a similar fashion. That fly was metal! It was the camera Near had placed in the cell! Mikami smiled in triumph before turning around to his God. He had to inform him immediately.

Light was pulled from his thoughts by Mikami leaning beside his ear and whispering "God the fly, do you see it?"

Light observed the shining fly before turning to Mikami "Yes, I do. What is it?"

Mikami answered almost silently "I think God, that is the camera that Near has placed in here to observe us."

Light patted Mikami on the back; he really was on fire today. He had certainly made up for his blunder leading to their defeat at the warehouse. Light immediately began formulating his plan for disposing of the device and relayed it to Mikami. As far as he knew Mikami and himself were to be interrogated today, if they delayed their exit from the cell by complaining or causing trouble they could dispose of or destroy the camera. His ears perked upon hearing heavy footsteps approaching the cell, this was unexpected. He hadn't expected the guards to bring them for the interrogation so soon. He had no time to tell Mikami of how to distract the guards; he had only told him how to dispose of the camera! He looked worriedly at Mikami; he hoped the lawyer could improvise.

Two men walked into view, Mikami recognised one of them as the man he had offended but an hour earlier. From the looks of it he was still quite enraged and was glowering silently at Mikami. Rather than give him a triumphant smile or calm stare he elected to merely ignore the man. This had its intended effect causing the tall man to frown even more than previously.

His colleague informed the two Kiras "Near wants to see you know, we will be taking you to him."

The man took out the keys to the cell while his tall colleague brought out two pairs of handcuffs. Mikami was quite worried; the fly had yet to move to an appropriate spot. He knew that he had to buy some time and fortunately enough he had perhaps the best person with which to facilitate this. The SPK were fools for sending the man he had offended earlier, honestly it could only have gotten better if they had sent Agent Hall as well. Mikami stood up and met the glare of the glowering man with a smile. While Light watched with interest, perhaps Mikami could improvise. The smaller agent unlocked the door.

The man stared at Mikami laughing at him "How's your nose Kira?"

His companion uneasily looked at him "Hey come on Bill, you need to calm down…"

The taller man interrupted him "Shut it!" he turned around to face Mikami again "I asked you a question! How is your nose?"

Mikami looked at the man and shrugged "It's been better, how's your father?"

With but a sentence Mikami had set off the ticking time bomb that was the agent. He charged into the cell like a bull seeing red. His mind was focused only on getting Mikami; his partner was too scared to even restrain him. Mikami, upon seeing the human battering ram charging towards him, slightly regretted his choice of words. Before he could regret further the recklessness of his choice he was sent flying as the man barged into Mikami with his shoulder. The prosecutor was seeing stars but knew that he needed to get the fight outside the cell. He looked up and saw that the fly had moved, excellent. He gestured for his God not to intervene, it was his fight and his God need not dirty his hands in it. He ran past the man and outside the cell. The other agent was staring in stupor at the chain of events; he clearly hadn't the faintest idea of what to do.

Mikami looked around for the fly; there it was in front of him he turned around to face the bull of a man. It seemed he was setting himself up for another charge; Mikami positioned himself in front of the fly. He hoped this would work, before he could consider anything else the man slammed into Mikami again making Mikami hit the wall. Mikami shakily climbed to his feet and looked behind him, the fly had been crushed! His plan had worked.

Light was impressed; Mikami had disposed of the camera in his own ingenious way. The chances of Near realising that Mikami's positioning was intentional were slim to none. Mikami looked like a scared man running away from a man a lot larger than him. That statement was half true, Mikami was running away but judging from the man's expression, which the camera couldn't see, he was only angry. Light noticed that the other agent wasn't there anymore; the coward had probably run to get help rather than stopping the fight himself. Light had to intervene in some way, if he didn't, judging by the legitimately murderous expression on the tall agent's face, Mikami could be killed. He didn't doubt that the brute power that the agent possessed was more than enough to end the Fourth Kira's life. He had to do something quickly. He noticed the handcuffs on the ground; perhaps if he threw them to Mikami he could restrain the man. It was optimistic and he knew it, but being optimistic had gotten Light far in his life. He sprinted to the handcuffs grabbing them and tossing them to Mikami.

"Mikami," he shouted to gain the man's attention "catch!"

The lawyer looked up seeing the hand cuffs and nodded. Light relaxed slightly but still watched with worry, it was by no means a forgone conclusion. In fact even with the hand cuffs in the equation Light had barely evened the odds. He could intervene but he had no doubt that he would be unable to do much, coupled with the fact Mikami had asked him not to intervene led Light to watch rather than fight.

Mikami grasped the handcuffs and began to formulate a plan. He wasn't a fighter, but he was certainly a far better strategist than his opponent. From what he had gleaned in the short time he had been fighting the man, he could tell the man didn't think as he fought. It seemed his anger and hatred of Mikami had blinded him and all he saw was Mikami, nothing else. His train of though was interrupted by a rather vicious right hook to the nose. The resounding snap confirmed that the agent had bust Mikami's nose yet again. Luckily he had, yet again, failed to break it. Mikami knew that he had to finish this fight soon; his body wouldn't be able to sustain this punishment for long. He had to goad him into making a mistake for his plan to work.

"Go on beat me all you want," Mikami shouted at the man "It doesn't compare to the suffering your father is experiencing in Hell!"

His insult had the intended effect; the agent let out a cry of rage and flung himself at the prosecutor. Mikami quickly sidestepped the man causing the agent slam into the wall and fall over. Light stared expectantly at Mikami; the prosecutor would be able to restrain the man now. He waited patiently, but was shocked by Mikami's next act.

The prosecutor started laughing at the man on the floor; the agent was clearly disorientated and was trying to get up. He never got the chance. Mikami kicked the agent on the inside of his leg pushing him to ground. Mikami brought the handcuffs in front of the agent's throat and began to choke the agent with them. He could hear footsteps and shouting, probably the agent's colleagues trying to halt the fight. There were two problems with their objective, it was a death match now and they were too late. Mikami could feel them trying to pull him off the agent but his response was only to tighten his grip with the handcuffs on the choking agent's throat. As the pulling of the other agents became harder Mikami conversely pulled harder as well. He could feel one of the agents futilely clubbing him with some form of blunt object, probably a truncheon of some description. Mikami, however, ignored the pain and kept pulling until he felt the agent ceased to move under him. He could hear cries of horror from the other two agents; however his only response was to laugh even harder. Tears began rolling down his cheeks and mixing with the blood on his face. He felt himself being lifted then thrown landing in the cell again, which was promptly locked. He still hadn't stopped laughing.

The other two agents stared in shock and revulsion at the blue faced cadaver of what once was their friend. Mikami had pulled so hard with the handcuffs that he had actually cut about an inch into the agent's neck, which was now bleeding profusely. They both looked at each other with disbelief before looking at Mikami with a mixture of hate and fear. The prosecutor's hands were soaked in the blood of their comrade. The prosecutor was still laughing hysterically at the death of their friend.

Mikami looked up at the two agents staring at him; he found it almost comical their lifelike expressions. They were so convincing pretending to be human, but no human would be evil enough to hate or oppose Kira. It was like a doll; no matter how much you tried it wouldn't be fully human. Of course while Mikami was certain that all the SPK weren't worthy of living the agents were wondering if Mikami was human as well. Suddenly and repulsively Mikami began to lick the blood off his hand smiling at the agents whilst doing so.

"Jesus Christ!" the blond haired agent screamed.

Mikami scrutinised the blond, his vision was slightly blurry but it took a moment for him to realise the agent wasn't a man. It was a woman, and judging by her features it was none other than Agent Hall. Remembering what he had thought earlier Mikami started having to steady himself against a wall from laughing so much.

" _What a coincidence!" Mikami thought to himself. "That will teach the woman not to disrespect me again!"_

Light watched the exchange going on; he had to admit he was quite surprised by Mikami's vicious behaviour. Perhaps the Death Note and his separation from it was affecting him adversely. Mikami had had no way to rid the world of those he saw as evil. Perhaps he was developing some form of a split personality? Mikami had had no way to rid the world of those he saw as evil, without the Death Note. The agent lying face first in a pool of his own blood was unfortunately the individual Mikami chose to cleanse the world of. He resigned himself to the knowledge that Mikami wouldn't hurt his God and continued to watch the situation play out.

Hall's colleague looked at her "The file didn't say he was this violent!" The man looked positively terrified he must have been elected on this case for his intelligence, not his experience.

Hall looked grimly at the dead agent's body "I haven't seen something this bad for years." she looked at the manical Kira laughing at them "He has lost it… be careful around him or you'll end up like Agent Tager there!"

Tager… so that was the agent's name, Mikami considered it briefly before deeming it inconsequential. He had cared so little about the man when he had met him, that he hadn't even looked at his name. It didn't matter what his name was because he was dead now. Once again he heard footsteps, this time soft ones followed by the click of high heels and shoes. He focused in on the softer footstep trying to figure out what it was it was. It sounded a lot like the sound Mikami's feet made as they hit the ground after he got out of bed and put his socks on. Socks that was it! There was only one person Mikami knew who walked around in socks!

Light heard the footsteps as well he pondered who it was, judging from the slow and methodical walk the individuals approaching were important probably senior investigators. He stood expectantly waiting them to appear, but was shocked by Mikami's silence.

The prosecutor turned to the genius and rapidly informed him "God, Near is coming!"

Light wondered how Mikami was able to conclude that but after seeing the child walk in Light accepted Mikami's judgement. The child look shocked at the mess, blood was smeared everywhere and led to Mikami. The child uncharacteristically looked horrified; normally he was almost always calm. This was the first time Light had seen the child look like this. He knew he had to exploit the weakness now while he was still able to.

"Are you scared Near?" asked Light, taunting the boy and enjoying the child's look of fear. "I wouldn't worry Mikami doesn't bite." Light laughed at the boy.

To the child's credit he recomposed himself quickly; he took a few deep breaths to calm himself. Near wouldn't admit it but this was the first time he had seen a killing this horrific in person and so close up. It made him want to throw up, but he couldn't afford to be weak at a time like this. Not when someone like Light Yagami was ready to capitalise on every mistake. He knew he had to quickly reclaim his façade of bravery and knew there was only one way to do so. He had been pushed into a spot by Mikami and Light, not intentionally, but because of his fear he would either appear to his men as a weak leader or uncaring. He rationalised that been seen as an uncaring leader was better than having to face possible insubordination and so he made his decision.

"If you don't mind I would like to speak with you, is that ok?" he asked completely ignoring the corpse right beside him.

Light smirked, he knew the child's gambit "No, I don't mind at all, but would you mind cleaning that up?" he gestured to the body "It is beginning to stink."

Near frowned at Light before replying "Very well Light." he ordered the agents "Take Agent Tager's body away to be disposed off." He looked at Agent Lidner beside him "Leave me; I want to conduct this interrogation myself."

The agent looked ready to argue but upon seeing the seriousness of the child's expression nodded at Near before gesturing for the other agents to follow her, bringing with them Tager's body. All that was left was a pool of blood where his body had been slumped.

Near began his interrogation "Truthfully there isn't much for me to say, I have already collected most of the knowledge I need from your Shinigami. However I felt it was necessary to speak to the both of you, and inform you of the specifics of your upcoming trial."

" _I should have known, no wonder Ryuk never came back. Near probably gave him apples!" Light thought angrily to himself._

Near continued "The UN was at first confused as to where to try you, considering the fact that you crimes didn't discriminate between countries." he looked at Light in particular "We considered the International Criminal Court in the Netherlands, but the uproar against it was so massive that the Dutch government refused to allow you to be tried there."

Light smiled "Yes courts tend to have problems trying heroes."

Near continued unfazed "Nevertheless despite the Dutch government itself not allowing the trial the ICC itself have agreed to try you. They have relocated to England to try you."

Light grinned slightly "England? Are you sure? Kira approval ratings are through the roof there."

Near frowned slightly "Yes they are, however they remain the only government willing to try you. It has been noted that your case has been leaked by an insider. This is why the Dutch people are up in arms about you and your accomplice's trial."

Light grin grew wider "This day keeps getting better and better. Tell me Near, where will I be tried?"

Near frowned before responding "Whammy's House, I felt it logical that where it all in a way started should be where it finishes."

Light frowned at the mention of Whammy's house, it brought up memories of his previous nemesis and how that nemesis had considered him his friend. It also made him remember how he betrayed that friend. Light would be honest Ryuzaki was his friend, L was his enemy. It was a shame that they, in the end, were the same person. Perhaps in another life Ryuzaki and Light Yagami could be friends. But in this life L and Kira could only ever be enemies. He frowned at this momentary burst of weakness, hoping Near didn't notice it. He did.

"I find it odd that you regret killing L," stated Near "was he not your enemy?"

Light struggled to speak "I smiled when L died, but now I frown remembering that Ryuzaki died as well." He looked at Near "Your predecessor was a complicated person, I regret killing him but the ends always justify the means."

Near nodded "I suppose this trial will be the judge of that."

"Mark my words Near, this will be no trial. It will only be my final victory." Light confidently stated.

Near shook his head "I have calculated the chance of you succeeding, at this moment in time, while the percentages don't favour me they do not favour you either. We both possess a fifty percent chance of winning this trial."

Light frowned at those words; it really was a game of chance. A flip of a coin would decide the fate of the world. He preferred his victory to be much clearer cut than that, but he would deal with it for now. After all, the percentages could change over time. After considering Near's words he noticed that the child was playing with his toys again. For someone in many ways his and L's better it was easy to forget that Near was still just a boy. In fact if it weren't for his adult vocabulary he would give no indications that he was anything else than a child.

"Tell me Near, do you think I am evil?" asked Light curious of the child's answer.

The child pondered the question for five minutes and until then there was pure silence before he responded "I don't think you are evil, but what you do?" He shook his head "That is evil."

Light respectfully nodded at his rival's comment "I don't think you are evil either, but what you are trying to do?" Light shook his head "That is evil."

Light wasn't mocking Near, and the boy knew this. The man and boy were just exchanging their views on life. Light would never admit it, but he knew that he had committed some evil acts in his time. At the time he hadn't considered it evil, but he regretted having to kill Raye Penber and the FBI agents. He also regretted the death of Naomi Misora, and of course L's death. All of these people had committed evil acts for trying to stop him, but they themselves were good people. Perhaps his acts were evil but Light knew they were necessary for his utopia. He perhaps was selfish for wanting to rule over it, but he certainly wasn't selfish for wanting this world for everyone. As long as you were righteous you could live in his world and not fear a thing, it was only those whom Kira judged as evil that need fear anything.

The child turned to Mikami "Why did you kill Agent Tager?" He seemed genuinely quite curious.

Mikami was struck by this question; he turned to his God for both answers and permission. He found his permission but not any answers. It seemed Near wasn't the only one testing him.

"He tried to kill me," Mikami answered after pondering the question for a long time.

"Did you really need to kill him though?" Near asked with calmness someone of his age shouldn't be able to muster.

"Of course I needed to kill him!" Mikami shouted outraged by Near's questioning "if I didn't he would have killed me!"

"The agents I sent to intervene could have sufficiently handled Tager, but yet you strangled him with a pair of handcuffs despite their best efforts" Near stated before blinking and asking again "Why?"

Mikami found himself once again under pressure to respond, his God was watching him. He searched for his answer long and hard before speaking.

"He didn't deserve to live; anyone who would kill someone for angering them has proven that they are unworthy to live in the utopia I and my God desire and strive for." Mikami finally answered.

Mikami sat back watching the child. He felt satisfied by his response, and judging from his God's smile he was satisfied as well. He began looking at the child who suddenly began smiling. This worried Mikami, whenever the child smiled something went badly wrong for him and his God.

"Is that so?" The child asked. "I suppose you know that your God committed this sin, if I am correct he killed Lind L Taylor for angering him. What excuse do you have for him?"

Light frowned, Near had just presented a very dangerous question to his fanatical accomplice. It would shake the loyalty of even the most steadfast of men. The reasoning behind Mikami's logic had been challenged, and that could be very dangerous to the man's psyche. He knew that Mikami would struggle with this answer; he could only hope the man could both answer the question and remain loyal whilst doing so.

Near was calmly inspecting the prosecutors facial expressions, L had taught all of his potential successors, not directly but rather in lessons he personally planned for them, how to read someone's facial expression. He could already tell that the fanatic was thinking hard his mind considering every word and insinuation that the question held. Once again, the room was in silence as Mikami pondered and considered the question. He looked at the blood on the floor, the blood on his hands and the blood on the child's socks. He had probably stepped on some whilst walking up to the cell. Trying as hard as he could Mikami went through tremendous effort to create and answer. After ten minutes of silence the lawyer looked at his God and smiled.

He turned to the child prodigy "He is God; therefore he is exempt from judgement." He frowned at the child "You could not possibly understand his reasoning, and you are in no position to judge him. He is the magistrate of our world. He needs not hold himself to the same virtues of the world for he is above the law. He possesses the correct qualities to judge the world fairly, and has proven he can do so successfully. He thus has no reason to be judged for doing so would be judging justice itself which is impossible."

Light smiled at Mikami's answer, the prosecutor had answered the question well. He had justified to himself Light's abuse of his power. He had rationalised for himself one of Light's evil acts. Near was a fool for trying to lead him astray. He was too loyal for that to happen.

Near frowned at Mikami's response "I see your logic and I respect your reasoning, but surely you can understand that Light is supposed to be a role model for the world…"

Mikami cut him off "No he is not. Kira is supposed to be a reminder, a deterrent, a judge, a jury, and an executioner. People cannot hope to be like him for he is God, thus it would be unreasonable for a human to truly possess or emulate godlike qualities; for if that was the case the humans would all be Gods, or rather the God human. Do you understand?

Once again Light was impressed by Mikami and his words. He had truly persuaded himself that Light was infallible. Like a loyal disciple he jumped on any attempt to discredit Kira or his ideals. It was certainly impressive.

Near nodded and conceded "Very well, I will argue with you no longer." He turned to look at Light "Your trial will be in a couple of days' time."

Near began walking away from the cells, a frown evident on his face. He was clearly disappointed with Mikami's answer.

Light smiled and turned to look out the window. He was clearly happy with Mikami's answer.

Mikami hid his frown and stared at the ground. He clearly wasn't sure about his answer.


	5. Beginnings of Heresy

It had been two days now. Near hadn't been specific as to when they would be facing trial, Light knew this was intentional, a ploy to make him slip up and collapse under the omnipresent pressure of the trial. However, he wouldn't snap under the pressure, he had faced much more stressful events head on without crumbling. He had fought L tooth and nail for what felt like eons without giving up, he certainly wasn't going to lose his cool over this trial. Mikami wouldn't collapse under pressure either, he was simply too loyal. Mikami wouldn't so much as breath without permission if Light instructed him not to.

Ryuk had yet to return, to be honest Light wasn't that irritated by the lack of the Shinigami's presence. In fact Light was glad to finally have some solitude from the Death God, but even with Mikami around sometimes it felt as if the lawyer wasn't really there. He barely talked except when spoken to, to be honest as refreshing as it was to have a silent minion, Light needed to converse. Perhaps Mikami could survive without social interaction, but Light needed to talk every once in a while.

Light supposed he could order Mikami to converse with him, he shrugged his shoulders he may as well.

"Mikami?" asked Light staring at the man who was currently crouched in the corner.

He seemed rather spaced out, but in reality Mikami was constantly alert. The man was at the beck and call of Light. Like a dog, Mikami would respond to his master no matter what.

The man shot up all but running to his God and kneeling before him and asking "Yes God?"

He looked at his God's eyes noting mischief in them; Mikami was interested as to what his God required him for. It was rare to see his God smile about anything other than his or Mikami's success over an opponent.

"Mikami," said Light "I am bored and I want to pass the time."

Mikami nodded loyally asking "Of course God, what would you ask of me?"

Light frowned at Mikami "I don't know you that well Mikami, I want us to tell each other about themselves. I feel it will allow us to better understand each other."

Mikami was confused as to why his God would want to know anything about him. He was a loyal servant of his Lord, why would the other man be interested in him? Regardless Mikami was a loyal subordinate and nodded signifying his agreement with Light's suggestion.

"Of course my God," replied Mikami "anything you desire."

Light scowled. This was the problem with Mikami; the man didn't understand that this was just a conversation. Mikami wasn't well versed in the art of communication with Light. For such an articulate man it was honestly quite surprising, to Light, just how awkward he was. He was so unlike Misa, speaking of which Light wondered if he should remind her of the Death Note. He would ponder that at a later date, he needed to focus on the herculean task at hand; getting Mikami to talk to him normally.

"Mikami," ordered Light sternly but softly "I want you to speak to me as an equal not as a God."

The prosecutor looked shocked; it was blasphemous for him to show such a lack of disrespect to his deity. He would never speak to Light as if he was an equal, for Mikami was God's right hand but Light was God. A servant doesn't speak to his master as an equal, and the same principals applied in his relationship with Light in his opinion. He once again obediently nodded however; it would be even more heretical to disobey his God's order.

"Very well Go- Light, I will speak to you as if I was your equal" replied Mikami.

Light nodded "Excellent, we should be on first name basis with each other." He turned to the lawyer "You will call me Light and I will call you Teru, is that acceptable?"

Once again the lawyer nodded loyally; to be honest it was odd for him to be called Teru. He was so often addressed as Mikami that he actually preferred it to his given birth name. However if his God deemed it acceptable to address him as such then he was in no position to argue.

"Very well Light, what would you like to talk about?" asked Mikami, he was curious of his God's intentions.

"Mikami, what made you support me?" asked Light.

Light had never really asked Mikami why he supported Kira as fanatically as he did. Mikami was one of the most loyal Kira supporters Light had ever encountered, he understood what Kira stood for, which was why Light selected him to be the Fourth Kira. Mikami had one of the strongest senses of justice Light had ever encountered. Although Light would never admit this, Teru's hunger for justice was stronger than his own.

Mikami stared at Light with a mixture of admiration of and fanaticism "I support you because you are justice, ever since my mother died I had waited and watched the justice system failing. Even when I was young I knew that there was no moral grey. The world is black and white, there is good and there is evil. However, no one understood this simple truth. They attempted to punish murderers feebly by imprisoning them. I became a prosecutor to help convict the scum that infest our world, but it was never enough! The crime rates were getting worse, and I already knew the justice system was incapable of dealing with the rate of crime."

Mikami paused before continuing "When you, Kira, came it all changed. Criminals for the first time in decades were on the run. No longer did law abiding citizens have to fear going outside, no longer did mothers have to fear as their sons left for school. No longer did wives have to wait anxiously to see if their beloved husbands would return home. No longer would justice have to cower in the face of evil! You fixed all of which was wrong with the world, I took every opportunity to announce my support for your justice. How could I not? I am eternally grateful for your intervention in our world."

Light was pleased; it was for this sense of loyalty and admiration as well as moral conviction that Mikami was selected to become the Fourth Kira. The man suited the role perfectly; he completely redefined himself to become Kira. As time went on the man became less like Teru Mikami, hardworking, organised and lawful lawyer, and more like the Fourth Kira, brutal, fanatical, merciless and unbendable in his moral values. Some may have found the change distressing or seen it as a sad event, but Light saw it as a reawakening. The prosecutor was a tool for Light's purposes; all he needed was for Light to guide him.

"Teru, to be honest my original reasons for becoming Kira were not particularly inspiring. I first found the Death Note on the grounds of my school, before I became the First Kira I was Japan's top student. The future of the world was in my hands, I could throw it away and instead become a law abiding citizen. I was planning to become a detective, my father was the Chief of the NPA. But in that book, I saw potential! I saw a world unsullied by the scum of the Earth, unblemished by the malevolence of criminals and cleansed of the evil of the world. That world was in the notebook, it was in me! The moment I took that notebook was the moment my ascension to Godhood began!" Light explained to Mikami who was enthralled by his God's words.

"Of course, only you possessed the moral restraint and righteous judgement necessary to make the decisions that a God has to make." Mikami praised.

"Yes, however Teru there was still a problem. L. The anonymous detective was taking an interest in my activities; he was proving to be quite… difficult to combat. He quickly narrowed down that Kira was a student, myself, and began to take measures to incriminate me as Kira. Imagine! Attempting to imprison justice, however at that stage I had little spare time to reflect on the hypocrisy of portraying himself as an upholder of justice and still trying to arrest me. Eventually I knew that I would have to infiltrate the Kira case, like a Trojan horse I would destroy their efforts from the inside." Light recalled.

There were two reasons for him recalling these events; for starters it significantly boosted his ego to not only recall past success but also having a rapt audience to listen to him talk about former glory. Also, it presented Mikami with backstory to the motives and actions of Kira, hopefully the lawyer would be able to pick up on some of it and use it against the prosecutors in court. However it was mostly just to stroke his own ego.

"Light, why didn't you reveal yourself then? Kira was already extremely popular at that time." asked Mikami. The lawyer stared intently, he was absorbing every word the genius said like a sponge.

"At the time Teru, I thought that Kira's popularity, while massive, wouldn't be enough to keep me safe from the authorities. To be honest I would have rather avoided this trial all together." he stopped looking at the lawyer's reaction hoping he hadn't upset him, he hadn't "Eventually, I knew that I would have to announce my celestial nature to the world. I had yet to find the right moment though."

Mikami nodded captivated by his master's words, he certainly could understand the reasoning of his God. Not that he needed to do so, his God was the supreme opinion in every matter. Teru deferred to Light's judgement on every matter that troubled his thoughts, wasn't that the way it was supposed to be?

Unfortunately the conversation between master and servant was cut short; the guard that was to serve them food had arrived. He was a nervous fellow and was obviously afraid of Mikami, and Light didn't blame him for that. Mikami was normally not a physically violent man; this again led Light to believe that his separation from the book was affecting him adversely.

" _I wonder," Light pondered to himself "if the Death Note has a drug like effect on people. Or perhaps Mikami has become addicted to using it. It would explain Mikami's sleepiness, and sudden alertness. His odd mannerisms recently. It would also explain his violent tendencies; Mikami must be undergoing some form of withdrawal. I should keep a note of that."_

Mikami typically didn't even grace the guard with his gaze, but today he did look at him. The man was young and while he wore a suit, his mannerisms and face betrayed his age, it seemed incredibly odd to Mikami that the SPK seemed to employ so many young detectives.

" _Perhaps the SPK has to employ young people," Mikami mused "as older ones generally have families. They certainly don't want to die and leave their children fatherless and motherless. So the SPK has to select from those who either haver strong moral convictions or are too young to understand the danger of the case they are in. Not that they are stupid, but they still are slightly naïve to the risks."_

Atypically Mikami did hold his gaze at the guard this time, he reminded him of himself when he was young. Unable to deal with the corruption of the world, scared of the evil of the world, but desperately trying to do something about it. It brought back his memories of his time in school, desperately trying to protect those who couldn't protect those who couldn't defend themselves. Even then, he saw the flaws with the world, and knew he had to fix them.

Light curiously observed Mikami as the man was clearly thinking hard, he was waiting for Teru to speak or say something to the guard. He could tell the lawyer yearned to converse with the young agent before him. Judging from the smile on Teru's face, and his look of familiarity and nostalhia, he either knew the boy or saw himself or someone else in him. Light could read Mikami like a book, but sometimes he wondered about the thought process of the lawyer. He seemed so predicable before the warehouse incident, but since then he was proving to be a wild card. Not a loose end, no Mikami still was his most reliable accomplice. Actually, at this point in time, he was Light's only accomplice. How the mighty had fallen, well he only really had two accomplices in his prime.

"Are you scared?" asked Mikami his face full of concern for the boy he didn't even know. His face spoke a thousand words, for some reasons he really was alarmed about the boy's apprehensiveness.

The boy looked startled before recovering "I am not scared… just wary."

"You are wary of me? Why?" inquired Mikami, his voice full of curiosity.

"Because you are a murderer." The boy mustered nearly breaking under the prosecutor's gaze.

Light visibly flinched, the boy had done it now. There was no way Mikami was going to allow such an insult against himself and his ideals. The boy was in for a vicious verbal attack. Or at least that is what Light originally suspected, to his surprise Mikami responded differently.

"Is that what they are saying?" Teru queried, his voice betrayed not anger, but hurt. "I am not a murderer, I am a saviour. I don't kill the innocent; I only kill those who have done wrong. They reap what they sow, the likes of you I would never harm. I can see the hunger for justice in your eyes. While we have different methods and some different agendas, but we have the same end goal. The cleansing of criminals from this world, the only difference is that you chose the wrong way of doing it."

The boy seemed visibly disturbed by Mikami's monologue "Is that really how you see it?"

Mikami nodded affirmatively "Yes that is how I see it, and that is how it is."

The boy finally delivered their food sliding it through a slot on the two Kiras' cell doors. He looked at Mikami before walking away as he reached the door leading out of the holding area in which their cell was locatedhe stopped.

"I agree that the world must be cleansed of criminals, but your killing of criminals is evil. You are not better than them, if anything you are worse." he uttered before swiftly retreating from Teru's sight.

The boy didn't know it, but he had dealt a serious blow to Mikami who stared in stupor at the agent who he was once like him leaving, the boy who had called him evil. Mikami let anger overcome him; he began bashing his hands against the bars pugnaciously with little concern for his hand's wellbeing. Mikami was incensed, not at the boy, but at his words. He had displayed compassion; he had shown patience and understanding to the boy by not snapping at him. Yet, despite his acts of kindness, the boy had cruelly rejected him and his God.

Light stared at Mikami's violent outburst; the man really was suffering from the Death Note's absence. He wondered how long it would take, before Teru snapped again. In his volatile states, the prosecutor was concerned only by his God. Nothing else mattered, or perhaps even registered, Mikami was utterly servile even in his fits of rage. It wouldn't do to lose Mikami's loyalty; Light could see the evidence of that before him now. However, despite his previous conclusion, Light began to realise that Mikami was becoming too much like Kira.

Mikami didn't share any of the charismatic qualities that were needed for the public support of Kira, he was too concerned with the judgement of criminals and all those he saw as evil. Having such a merciless and brutal person as the Fourth Kira would harm the public view of Kira badly. In the end, to Light's slight regret, Mikami would have to be replaced, by a similarly intelligent and charismatic individual, like Light himself, but also as loyal as Mikami. That would be a hard undertaking. Before any of that, however, he needed to secure the Death Note.

" _Maybe if I am lucky enough," Light thought to himself "they might rule that the Death Note must be given to me. Perhaps the court may want to try me, but the people… the people want me to continue my work. And I shall, Mikami will be replaced by a more stable and charismatic Kira, but I am certain he will still serve me."_

Mikami looked around, the waiting, whilst he wouldn't show it, was boring him. The lack of activities was a bore for Mikami, he hadn't been tasked by his God, and so he did little other than watch. It wasn't surprising; Mikami had always been a good observer. From when he had watched for bullies as a Student Council President, to now as he watched with his Shinigami Eyes for villains who must be deleted. The eternal silence and lack of activity meant that, like an infected wound, the world would only fester again.

" _In time Teru," the Lawyer consoled himself internally "in time, the trial will be won. Then God and I can rule together in a utopia in God's image. All it takes is time, and time requires patience. I can wait, and I will wait. Final victory is close for my Master and I, and all that stands between that aforementioned triumph and our current situation is time. I cannot afford to fail now, not before criminality, and all the immoral filth that sullies this world is deleted from it permanently."_

Mikami's mind went back to that boy, Richard Parker was his name. He had never introduced himself, but that didn't matter to Mikami considering his blessing. The ability to see someone's name was an expedient perk; one Mikami was willing to have traded half his lifespan for. Parker was wrong about Mikami, at least in the prosecutor's eyes, why didn't he understand? Why did so many protest the work of Kira? Criminals, they aren't even human. They were just rabid animals that needed put down, but yet time and time again the law enforcement of the world tried to stop Kira.

" _Why?" Mikami asked himself unable to muster an answer "Why? Why? Why do they fight with justice? It only allows evil to take deeper root in the world. Surely even the blindest man can see; the immorality of the world is steadily leaving under Kira's influence. And yet, Parker had called me evil. Am I? No, I can't entertain such notions, for it is the first step to blasphemy."_

While he shook his head trying to shake the heretical thoughts, Mikami realised he needed sleep. Constant stress and anger, mixed with insomnia on his part, had rendered the lawyer exhausted. So he slowly walked over to the bunk bed, and fell into it. It was very unlike Mikami, the gracelessness of the action. He all but dropped on to the bed.

Light stared at Mikami, bemused by the very uncharacteristic move. Mikami was like a robot, he carried himself in a very uptight and stiff manner. To see the man collapse on the bed in a dishevelled state was, to Light's surprise, actually quite humorous perhaps even hysterical.

Light laughed at Mikami, his chuckles engulfing their dark cell. His chuckling must have annoyed the guards, as an angry banging put a quick end to his amusement. Mikami was fast asleep, and yet Light felt like he was wide awake. He didn't know why he hadn't fallen asleep yet, but now was struck with boredom.

"Yeah, it was pretty funny wasn't it Light?" commented Ryuk, the Shinigami appearing out of thin air.

Light was startled and fell back from the sitting position he had adopted on the floor. He blinked confusedly before recognising what had happened, his confused frown soon morphed into an angry grimace.

"Ryuk!" whispered the genius harshly "Where have you been?"

The Death God continued on completely ignoring Light's question "Not every time you see Frankenstein's monster over there flop over like a fish."

Light was confused, how did Ryuk know who Frankenstein was? He had probably got into Light's DVD collection at some point when he was out at school. His confusion once again transformed into anger.

"Answer the question!" Light whispered again, his patience was beginning to wear thin.

"Oh, I was with the albino kid, Near wasn't it?" answered Ryuk nonchalantly checking his fingernails.

"I know that, why were you with him?" interrogated Light, his thirst for an answer was overpowering.

The God of Death stared at him as if he had asked the most idiotic question he had ever heard "Well that's easy Light, he had apples."

Light abruptly stood up and climbed into the bunk above Mikami, his detaining in this place was going to test every part of his being. Ryuk could drive the patience of a saint. The aforementioned Shinigami began trying to get his attention again, but soon gave up and decided to go and lie in the corner of the cell. He could talk to Light later; after all they had plenty of time.

He held up his Death Note and inspected the names within it, he saw the first letters of Light's name as he was about to kill the man during the confrontation in the warehouse. He was glad that he hadn't, things had gotten even more interesting. He wondered what the court's judgement would be; it didn't particularly matter to him. Either Light lived or he died, it was good entertainment whichever way Ryuk looked at it. The Shinigami floated off with only one thought in his head.

" _I wonder if the white-haired kid has any more apples?" he pondered._

* * *

Mikami awoke to the jangling's of keys, he observed the dawn outside. It was a brilliant shade of red, but darkness could still be seen. While the sun threatened to cleanse the darkness, the dark merely seeped away. He observed the goings-on of the bustling city of Tokyo. Everybody had somewhere to be, everyone had something to do. Hundreds of figures walked, ran and even skipped towards their destinations. Each and every one had a purpose.

Mikami observed the shining of the keys, their brilliant gleam was a dead giveaway in the suffocating darkness of the cell. The dawn had yet to truly brighten his prison cell; it would take another hour or so for that to occur. Mikami began to muse, he wondered about the current situation he and his God were in, and why they were in it. Why? That was a question didn't ask much. Why suggested disobedience and insubordination. Insubordination was heresy toward his Lord.

"Wakey-wakey sleepyheads, you've got a big day ahead of you!" called a distinctly sarcastic and effeminate voice.

Mikami didn't even have to identify her by face; it was his nemesis, Agent Hall. The woman really did know how to aggravate him. All it took was for him to hear her voice, and he descended into righteous fury. Mikami began swearing under his breath, he was still tired.

" _Why does this woman have to go out of her way to annoy me?" though Mikami "I am tired, slightly hungry and am cold. I do not need her to annoy me further!"_

Unable to hold in the aggression towards the woman, a large scowl appeared on Mikami's face. This didn't go unnoticed by the SPK agent who smiled in response.

"If it isn't Teru Mikami?" she called mockingly "Is the pen really mightier than the sword? You seemed to prefer handcuffs."

Mikami was slightly put off by the woman's reaction, her utter insensitivity for her comrades death either betrayed distaste for him, or a chronic lack of empathy. Either way Mikami quickly bit back.

"I see you're off the leash again? Is Barnes or Near close by? I find it hard to believe they would let you so far off your lead." mocked Mikami, clearly pleased by his taunting.

"You really are something Kira, killer one moment and slanderer the next." said Hall, she seemed annoyed by his response but said nothing of it.

"I don't care for a battle of wits Hall! What do you want now, or rather what does Near want?" questioned Mikami.

The rapid and loud conversing had awoken Light, who seemed to have not slept well. The young man tiredly rubbed his eyes, trying desperately to awaken himself. It was quite unbecoming of Light, the man was usually dressed very well. He went to great lengths to maintain his pristine and respectable attire, but no matter what he wore, it wouldn't hide this look of pure exhaustion on his face.

Mikami stared at his God with a mixture of sympathy and concern. It was rude of him to awaken him over some spat with the agent. His God needed whatever rest he could get, this upcoming trial would be very stressful. Teru, despite his best efforts could help but think to himself.

" _He looks very unflattering for a God." thought Mikami quickly._

As soon as those heretical thoughts had come they had dispersed, leaving only the fanatical and zealous nature that Mikami possessed in large amounts. The prosecutor immediately began to speak with his Lord, eager to serve his God.

"Is everything alright my Lord, I apologise for awaking you prematurely. It was this bothersome woman's fault; she has come to torment us!" explained Mikami, fearful of angering Light.

Light shook his head in amusement, Teru was being melodramatic. The lawyer had a habit of doing so, as his method of writing in the Death Note showcased. Light chuckled; sometimes he was guilty of it himself. He himself sweated copiously while writing in the book, while Mikami all but used the pen as a sword slashing vigorously. It was quite dramatic of both of them to be honest.

"Oh calm down Teru, the woman is of no consequence. She is a messenger, nothing more." said Light smugly and calmingly to his accomplice.

The words had their intended effect, Mikami began smiling and nodding his head in agreement, while the woman had a look of pure indignation at his verbal dismissal of her. The look of outrage was so strong that her face was beginning to turn red, the only way Light could have elicited a stronger reaction would have been to slap her.

"Listen here you brat, who the hell do you think you are?" shouted Agent Hall in outrage.

Suddenly the room became quieter, as if everything living had died, Light slowly scanned the woman's face. He looked to Mikami, who was incensed with the woman for her blasphemy and blatant disrespect towards Light, before turning back to the fuming woman.

"I am Kira, try and remember that." said Light calmly, he was in control of the situation.

In one fell swoop Light had destroyed the woman's confidence; he brought back memories of her Father's death. The pain and agony on his face, as he desperately held his chest and attempted to get his heart pumping. To no avail, her father died right in front of her at a family dinner. Her mother took her life soon after, unable to consider a life without her husband, and her brother like her spent his time hunting down Kira. With but the swipe of a pen Light had irrevocably altered their lives, from the look on the First Kira's face, he felt no regret. This made all of her anger leave her instead taking the form of sadness; soon her face was wet with tears.

Mikami spoke up "Stop your snivelling woman; you had to bring us to Near remember?"

Uncharacteristically Agent Hall nodded before pulling out a tissue and blowing her nose "Yes, if you would follow me please."

Both Teru and Light sat up and began following the woman, her backup tailed them. Two guards with guns, it seemed after Tager's death the Special Provision for Kira were taking no chances. Both were hardened tall men, a stark contrast to the almost rag-tag group of members that both Kiras had seen recently. It was actually quite refreshing, and the men were too professional to even insult Yagami or Mikami. This was another welcome change for the duo. Their stay here, especially for Mikami, had been defined by threats, insults and questioning. To both men this pair of agents were like a cold glass of water in a hot desert.

It didn't take long for them to reach Near's room, it wasn't really an office. It had computers and television screens showing all of the security feed of Tokyo; no matter how professional it looked, the room was still full of toys and trains. Light looked exasperated, Mikami confused.

The boy genius was sitting down playing with his train set on the floor, carefully positioning the locomotives so as to not damage them. Each and every one was doing something. Each and every one had a purpose, a part to play. This was true of each and every one.

"Still playing with toys Nate?" asked Light, despite himself he found himself kneeling beside the boy to observe the track.

"Yes, I find it an amusing past time. It is quite good for relaxing the brain, a godsend in a strenuous job like my own." replied Near, he had lifted his head to look at Light. The boy was smiling, but not arrogantly. He seemed content above all else.

"I can understand that, being the new L must be stressful." said Light offhandedly.

The child genius nodded in agreement with the man, before unlocking his handcuffs and offering him a train to play with. Light briefly considered declining the boy's offer, however he had nothing truly to lose, and so together the two began to play. Neither one took notice of their rivalry, both ignoring that they were natural enemies.

Mikami watched the scene with a strange look on his face; this was a result of Teru trying to hide his confusion. He didn't see the two playing as an acknowledgement the fact that there was no animosity between the two. He merely saw a God and a child playing with a toy train set. The scene was ludicrous. As the guards easily indicated, some stared in shock while others laughed at the two playing.

Near looked up and saw Mikami's confused face, he gestured for the man to sit. The prosecutor did so, but his confusion hadn't left his face. The boy undid his handcuffs, and offered him a train to play with as well. While he hesitated for around a minute he eventually gave in, to Near's delight. The boy was clapping his hands in elation, as both the First Kira and the second L played and conversed, Teru stared at the set. Then he stared at train in his hand, it had no place on the track. It was a different colour to the rest, it had no purpose. Its destiny was his decision. Near looked up and smiled at the prosecutor before looking back to the set. Mikami could think of only one thing.

" _Perhaps my destiny is my own as well?"_


	6. Separation from God

The temperament of the room had almost changed, at least in Mikami's opinion. The surreal nature of the entire scene of the First Kira and the true Second L playing together had begun to wear off. The pair only played for a couple of minutes, they both seemed to have understood the true reasoning for their game together. Mikami, in a rare moment of clarity, realised something. This realisation disturbed him immensely.

" _This is just a game for the both of them; this entire struggle is just a massive battle of wits. Both care about justice, but both care about winning more than the justice they want to protect."_

This realisation made Teru sick to his stomach; he could feel himself starting to retch. It was an extreme reaction, but he often reacted badly to things that disturbed him. Near took notice of the prosecutor's strange behaviour and reached out to query if he was ok.

"Are you alright?" asked Near his voice full of interest, the boy was intrigued. He wanted to know what was ailing the Fourth Kira.

Near had removed himself from a conversation he had been having with Light, a debate on the best methods to catch a criminal. It seemed the two were trying to break whatever tension there was between them, Near had yet to tell the Kiras what he called them for. Light took notice of his disciple's odd behaviour as well.

"Are you alright Mikami?" asked Light, his voice was full of concern. It wasn't concern for a friend however; it was concern for a tool that could break.

Light had unintentionally calmed Mikami; he completely forgot his previous worries and focused on his God. Light had this effect on Teru, by speaking he caused the prosecutor to completely focus on him. With Mikami's full attention he could now find out what was troubling the lawyer. After all, Light couldn't afford to lose Mikami at the moment. Mikami was indispensable at this point in time, Light was incapable of finding a replacement in his current situation. He had to maintain Mikami until a replacement could be found, then and only then, would Mikami be obsolete.

"Are you sick Teru?" Light pressed, he was a bit worried. He couldn't afford Mikami being sick. The trial was imminent, and he was certain Near had called the Kiras to inform them that they would be heading to Wammy's house shortly. Now was not the time for Mikami to fall ill.

"No, my Lord!" exclaimed Teru "I am completely fine, I just had a bout of nausea nothing more."

Light nodded "Alright, tell me if you feel anymore nausea."

Mikami nodded, he was thankful that his God had so easily accepted his explanation. He composed himself, and took a deep breath. He could easily play it off as him trying to stop his supposed nausea. He would keep quiet for a while, and let Near and his God speak. The two geniuses were very perceptive, but easily distracted by each other. By the look on Near's face, the boy was about to say something.

"Well I suppose I shouldn't put it off any longer," Near began "as you might have guessed we are moving the SPK and you two to Wammy's house today. In twenty minutes in fact." To confirm his statement Near gestured to the clock which indicated it was twenty minutes to seven. "We will be leaving at seven o'clock, we will board two vehicles. You shall be separated, with one in the first vehicle and the other in the second. Once you reach the plane, you will be placed together in a section of the plane to hold you two."

Light nodded, confirming that he understood what Near was saying. Mikami didn't saying anything, but nodded as well.

"Light, you will be riding with Agent Lidner, Agent Hall and Agent Giovanni." said Near "They will convey you onto a plane we have prepared, this will take place over the course of twenty minutes. Please do cooperate, there is no point delaying the trial."

The three agents nodded affirmatively before Lidner spoke "Don't mess around with us."

Light laughed "I wouldn't worry Near, I am looking forward to this trial as much as you are."

The Third L nodded disinterestedly before turning to Mikami "Teru, you will ride with me."

At that moment a bustle of conversation and protestation occurred, many agents could be heard voicing their disapproval of a child being placed with a "monster". Mikami looked uneasily at Near, why did the boy want to ride with him?

" _What could he want with me?" thought Teru "I thought he was interested in God! What if he knows that I wasn't really sick? I thought that they had distracted each other!"_

To Mikami's credit, despite his inner turmoil, he kept a completely straight face. After listening to the arguments for a minute Near spoke up to silence the room.

"Everyone, please calm yourselves, I assure you Mikami will be fine with me. I will get his word. You needn't worry yourselves over me."

An agent in the room spoke up "How can you make sure he won't lie, how can your guarantee his word?"

Near looked up "That is simple; everyone knows how to guarantee anyone's word. It is one of the most basic of human gestures."

The agent looked confused "Well, what is it?"

Near walked up to Mikami and looked right into the prosecutor's eyes before raising his right little finger. "Teru, do you pinkie promise not to hurt me?"

Mikami's right eye twitched, it was so very easy to forget the Third L was a child. As funny as Near asking him to pinkie swear was, it was actually quite depressing as well. The child was basically thrusted into adult life, but he didn't finish his childhood. So now he was stuck acting like an adult, but also like a child. He seemed to truly believe in the pinkie swear. Mikami was many things, but he wasn't heartless enough to deny Near this.

Mikami placed his right pinkie around Near's struggling to keep his face straight "I won't hurt you, I pinkie swear."

Near turned around to the agents who had by this point given up "See, I will be fine. Don't worry about me."

Light was silently laughing at Near's mannerisms, it reminded him a lot of how L used to sometimes act. Specifically the time he offered a strawberry to keep the Kira team quiet about his identity as Coil and Deneuve. He truly was his successor, honestly, Near sometimes acted as if he was L reincarnated. And in many ways he was, he was L's ideals reincarnated.

Near gestured for the agents to take Light to the first vehicle while gesturing for Mikami to follow him. Mikami sighed; it was going to a long day. He followed the child who walked by his side the entire way. The boy kept looking behind his back, checking if there was anyone there to hear him. After making sure no one else was present he spoke.

"You aren't really sick are you?" the Second L asked knowingly.

Mikami seized up, this wasn't good at all. The boy did know, he would pick him apart if he wasn't careful. He took a breath before putting on a passive face. He knew he couldn't dissuade the boy's curiosity and suspicion, but he could certainly hold him at an impasse by being stubborn.

"I don't know what you are talking about." replied Mikami, not meeting the child's gaze as the two walked, "I am human, I do get sick."

At this point Mikami attempted to quicken the pace slightly; he couldn't outrun the child, as there was nowhere to go. However by picking up the pace, it would make it infinitely harder for the child genius to interrogate him. Unfortunately even the best laid plans of mice and men go wrong.

The boy grabbed on to Mikami by his sleeve, slowing the prosecutor down. He started tugging to stop him going any further. Teru was tempted to throw the boy off, but Near was waving his pinkie in the air with a smile of triumph. Mikami sighed in defeat and stopped, he allowed the boy to steady himself.

"You know, you are smarter than you realise." said the boy attempting to elicit a response. He stood by the lawyer who had perked up at the comment.

Mikami began fixing his tie nervously; it was uneven, having not been washed or ironed in a couple of days. However it certainly wasn't dirty, Mikami saw to that. Mikami stopped his fidgeting before looking at the boy as they walked.

"What do you mean?" asked Mikami, the boy had successfully piqued his interest. Unknowingly, Teru had been tricked into a conversation he didn't want to have.

"You think you aren't as smart as Light or I, don't you?" asked Near.

"I don't think, I know, Light is God. And you are his rival, how could I best you?" replied the lawyer.

"Your problem is simple Teru, you let your fanaticism limit your intelligence." answered Near, the boy looking at the lawyer with a mixture of curiosity and sympathy.

That was true to some extent, Mikami wouldn't have killed Takada nor taken the Death Note out of the bank had he not let his fanaticism control him. He hadn't really gotten anywhere for his fanaticism and loyalty, but he kept up hope. Blind faith would serve him well, at least he hoped it would.

The pair had exited the building by now, and climbed into the back of the vehicle that would drive them to the airport. It was a standard police van, fully armoured and enclosed. Near opened the doors and, after climbing in himself, made a motion for Mikami to get in with him.

As the lawyer sat down and the door was closed he was immediately attacked with questions, the Second L wasted no time in making use of their time alone.

"Do you mind humouring me with some questions? This section is soundproofed, you and I can speak with confidence." said Near.

Mikami nodded "You may ask me questions, but don't expect an answer for each and every one, I know you will attempt to provoke me. I swore not to harm you, that does not mean I won't ignore you. So ask me questions I will answer, lest this be a very silent journey."

The boy nodded before speaking "Thank you, now for the first question, why do you serve Light?"

The lawyer stared at him confounded "Because he is God, why wouldn't I serve a divine being?"

Near shook his head "He isn't God you do realise that?"

"He is God, he has ascended to Earth to delete those who would ruin our world. His ability to pass judgement is proof enough is it not?" denied Mikami fervently.

"Why would a God need your help?" asked Near, the child was beginning to ask the right questions, his plan needed to work.

Mikami faltered, that was a good point. Light was supposed to be omnipotent and omniscient, why did he need his help at all. How had the lawyer been outsmarted? If he had the favour of a God, logically he couldn't fail. He feebly tried to get rid of the disturbing thoughts.

Mikami raised his voice "Jesus needed his disciples, the same is true for me! God needs a loyal disciple, I fulfil that criterion."

Near once again shook his head "Jesus didn't need his disciples. Every miracle he performed was of his own doing. I don't remember Peter turning water into wine, so why does Light need someone to judge for him?"

Mikami couldn't rebut the child's answer; he kept quiet attempting to stop the child with noncompliance. Unfortunately Near only took that as reason to continue.

"Earlier you said to me that only Light has the right to judge who is evil. This can't be true, because you judged who was evil as well. Misa had the same power as Light, and she certainly wasn't near Light's or your intelligence. So why did she get to judge?" continued Near.

Mikami swallowed "That is because I was anointed by him to judge the criminals of the Earth. He blessed my deletion of scum. As for that girl, she too was selected to pass holy judgement. You wouldn't understand."

"Oh but I understand all too well, you see, I think Light isn't as holy as you want him to be. In reality he is just a young man with a God Complex, taking advantage of a vulnerable prosecutor who can't accept the evil of the world. So he looked for an easy answer. You looked to Light, because you saw him as a quick fix for the large problems of the world." said Near emotionlessly.

"I looked to God because he is the only solution to the world's problems!" roared Mikami outraged by the insinuations of the child, the heretic, before him. He had shouted so loudly that he thought even the driver could hear him.

Mikami's outrage had startled Near but not for long. The child continued his grilling of the lawyer. He knew that Mikami was a vital part of Light's plan of success at the trial. If he could turn the Fourth Kira against the First, then Light's chances of success went for fifty percent to just over thirty percent. It was vital that Near split the two.

"You said that if too many people were like God, he wouldn't be a God. But what if Light is too human, he makes too many human errors. He is smart yes, and incredibly intelligent. But if he were God, he would have known that the confrontation at the warehouse wouldn't have ended in his favour. The look of shock in his face proved that he didn't know what was going to happen. Even when you, his most loyal accomplice, tried to commit suicide he didn't bat an eye. What kind of compassionant and caring God does that? All Light cares about is himself. You think he has forgiven you for your failure? He is merely waiting until he can find someone he feels is more capable. You are expendable Mikami, and Light is no God." said Near, before preparing himself for the prosecutor's reaction.

"Shut up! Shut up you heathen!" thundered Mikami, who was absolutely incensed by Near's words "Light would never betray me, I am his greatest ally!"

"Really," asked Near "are you sure?"

Mikami wasn't, after the points Near had made, even he couldn't deny their validity. Light was planning to dispose of Misa, what about him? Was he his God's greatest ally, or was he his greatest pawn? The lines were so blurred, that he couldn't tell. However he still desperately tried to hold on to the notion that Light was God.

"He has to be God, for he is benevolent and merciful." said Mikami, with no conviction.

"Teru, this whole ordeal is a massive game for Light. You think he really cares for you or anyone else. He wants to create a world free from criminals that much is true, but he wants to rule the world even more. Why did he kill Lind L Taylor? Because his pride was insulted, don't you see? He isn't benevolent, he isn't merciful. He killed someone under the assumption that he was an innocent man. He rationalised this by stating he was justice. He will rationalise everything he does, he will rationalise killing you or disposing of you when you are no longer useful to him." replied Near, completely breaking Teru's faith.

Mikami was disorientated; he couldn't believe it, Light wasn't God? Such a notion had been inconceivable previously to him. Yet, he knew Near's words to be true. He had been blind to Light's ways. The man had deceived him, and he was a fool for falling for it. Mikami felt disappointment, in himself, how could he not have seen this? He had been the top of his class; he was a well-respected prosecutor who saw through the lies of career fraudsters. How had he been tricked?

Mikami fidgeted with his tie before speaking "You're right, Light isn't God. I was blind, I can see that now. Thank you for opening my eyes, no longer will I be controlled by him."

Near smiled in triumph "You can still atone for what you did, if you help incriminate Light in the trial, I could get you a new identity, a fresh start. I could even get you a place on my team."

It was at this point a decision would be made, a decision that would have irrevocable consequences. It would be a lie to say the Teru wasn't interested, the ability to get away from the prison sentence sounded enticing. Teru Mikami could have returned to his days of lawfully protecting the world from criminals. He could have made his mother proud. He could have atoned for his sins. But Teru Mikami wasn't truly there anymore; during his time with the Death Note he had changed, he had become the Fourth Kira.

Perhaps Light had not been God, but that didn't mean Kira's ideals were wrong. It merely meant someone else had to take the mantle; someone who wasn't corrupt and power-hungry, and luckily X-Kira was more than willing. X-Kira was merciless, unbendable, devious and conniving. Teru Mikami was merciless, unbendable, devious and conniving. Above all Teru Mikami and X-Kira are interchangeable terms, for they are the same person. Light and Near were now both obstacles in his pursuit of justice. But he would play them like marionettes against each other, both thinking they had his loyalty. In reality, neither did. The first step was gaining Near's loyalty.

"I will help you, but you must promise me that you will get me a fresh start." said Mikami, hiding his true intentions.

Near nodded "I promise, you'll get a new life Teru."

Mikami smiled before extending his pinkie finger "Pinkie promise?"

Near nodded seriously wrapping his pinkie around Teru's "Pinkie promise."

Nate River, in his pursuit of justice, had either helped it immensely or doomed it. Either way, he had made the biggest mistake in his career as the Third L. Teru Mikami wasn't to be trusted. He wanted a better world for everyone innocent, but he was willing to do anything to achieve that. The ends justify the means.

The van pulled to a stop, they had reached their destination. Near opened the van's doors, feeling very happy with himself. He didn't show it however. He stepped outside, before seeing the agents that would transfer Mikami. They immediately approached and began handcuffing the lawyer who had only just stepped outside.

"Sorry Mikami," said Near apologetically "but you still need to wear the handcuffs. You will be put back in with Light. I don't think it needs mentioned, but don't say anything about our conversation, is that understood?"

Mikami nodded, before allowing the agents to take him through a vacant terminal towards the plane. He kept his head down, allowing his hair to cover his face. This was essential, as it was the only thing covering his glowing eyes and maniacal grin.

* * *

Light was already on board the plane, the entire trip with the SPK agents had been very boring for him. However the agents had gotten him a change of clothes. Luckily they seemed aware of his tastes, getting him a brown suit with a red tie. Very similar to the uniform he had worn whilst in high school. High school brought back memories of his boredom; the boredom was what inspired him to become Kira. It was several factors really, boredom, his hatred of the world's current state at that time, and the idea of becoming a god.

Light looked around the section of the plane he was in, it was a locked from the outside, so there wasn't a chance of him getting out of the plane. Not that he wanted to; as the days progressed the trial became less daunting and more interesting. He wondered what the trial would bring. He would admit only to himself, but he didn't have any idea as to what exactly would happen in the trial. Would he be sentenced, or would the world embrace Kira? It was good entertainment for Ryuk anyways, speaking of which, the Shinigami had been sitting on a chair in the plane. Light had ordered him earlier to search for any cameras, he knew by the fact the Shinigami hadn't said that there were none. He hadn't said anything to him since. The Death God seemed to be waiting for Light to take notice of him. Light had been purposefully ignoring him, it wasn't often Ryuk was quiet.

Light decided to humour him "Ryuk, you are being awfully quiet, it's quite unlike you."

The Death God jumped up; glad to be finally acknowledged "You sure do take your time Light; I have been sitting here for five minutes. You shouldn't keep me waiting you know?"

Light shook his head "Maybe if you spoke up, I would actually speak to you. I thought you wanted to be quiet. It was quite a nice change, but it's very unlike you."

"But Light, you always want me to be quiet. And now you want me to speak? You are so hard to understand sometimes." Ryuk complained.

"That is more a result of your lack of intelligence Ryuk, than anything else." smirked Light in a teasing manner.

Ryuk grumbled to himself in slight annoyance, before continuing "So, what's the plan after the trial?"

"After the trial, if it goes in my favour, I will use the support of the world's people as leverage for myself. I will use them to instate me as God of the New World." explained Light, with a smile on his face as he was quietly confident in his success.

"And then what?" queried Ryuk, still curious of the First Kira's plan.

"And then I will rule over it as I see fit, the world will be glad to have someone like me ruling over them. After all, under my rule criminality will go extinct. If someone goes against me, well they are committing a crime. They will be disposed of. I will bring about a golden age for humanity. I will be the greatest ruler humanity has ever known." said Light, more to himself that Ryuk.

"There are no cameras in this part of the plane, I checked. So answer me honestly, what makes you think I won't kill you after you become God of the New World?" asked Ryuk, in anuncharacteristically serious manner.

"Ryuk, I know you won't kill me, because you love entertainment. That is your vice, while humans love drugs, sex and alcohol, you love entertainment and apples. I know there will be resistance, perhaps even a new L to try and stop me. Surely that interests you? To be honest, I hope someone will try to stand up to me, it would be anticlimactic to have no resistance to my reign." answered Light, smirking slightly.

The Shinigami nodded before sitting down again. It was true, he probably would let Light live. He had put on a tremendous show; the least he could do was let the man have his reign on Earth. After all, his reign on Earth would be far shorter than his eternity of nothingness after death. He would let Light have his reign, if he got it. Despite Light's confidence, even he knew that the trial wasn't clear cut.

Should Light lose Ryuk would take the notebook off him, he didn't have to necessarily kill him if he willingly gave up ownership. He wouldn't lose his memories a second time; he had used the Death Note far too often. The Death Note makes an imprint on the soul of whoever uses it. Needless to say, Light had been imprinted on massively, more than enough to avoid loss of memory. The Shinigami phased through the wall of the plane, in search of entertainment.

Light was content, everything seemed to be going according to plan. The only thing currently bothering him was Mikami's tardiness, where was the man? Light was a patient individual, but sometimes even he didn't like waiting. Mikami was certainly trying his patience; he supposed it wasn't the prosecutor's fault. The man was stuck with Near, which could never be good. He would have to see what the child had asked Mikami, it was obvious he wanted to speak to him.

The Third L had made sure he was alone with Mikami, the entire ordeal had probably stressed out the lawyer. He would probably glad to see Light after sitting with Near for about thirty to forty minutes. The man got annoyed sitting with anyone other than Light for longer than five minutes, he wondered what the man would be like when he finally arrived. He supposed he would have to relegate himself to waiting.

There was a fruit bowl on a table in the middle of the room. Luckily Ryuk had failed to notice the apple hidden under the pears; the Death God had disappeared anyways. Just as Light was making his way over to the fruit bowl, Mikami was brought in by the detectives. He looked vaguely annoyed, but was quickly released from his hand cuffs. The agents retreated from the section of the plane, locking the door behind them.

Mikami stood up tall and straightened himself, he scanned the room noting everything within it. His eyes fell on Light, who was smiling at his once loyal disciple. Mikami nodded respectfully at Light, before making his way to the fruit bowl and picking up the only apple. He bit into it before staring at Light, he was mimicking his former fanaticism for Light perfectly. Light Yagami was right about Mikami, he was glad to see him. He was glad to see him however, for all the wrong reasons.

Mikami continued eating the apple in his hand. He knew Light would start his questioning soon; he had to act as he previously did. He immediately began the act he would have to keep up; Mikami knew that deception was vital to his success. Neither Near nor Light could suspect that he was working with both of them, or else his plans would be ruined. It would be a difficult task to not arouse suspicion, both the people he was deceiving were hyper intelligent. But he was quite intelligent as well; he knew how he had to deal with them. He didn't need to be more intelligent than them, he needed one to be more intelligent than the other. One would leave themselves open in their effort to defeat the other. When that occurred Teru would capitalise upon it, but he was getting ahead of himself. He needed to deal with Light's questioning first.

"So Teru, Near didn't scare you too much?" said Light jokingly, he was lightening the mood before he asked serious questions. Not that he needed to, he was certain that he had Mikami's full loyalty. The man was at his beck and call, the perfect pawn. He was Light's eyes.

"Not at all my Lord, he was just asking me questions about the SPK agent I deleted." lied Mikami flawlessly, he could be an awkward man. That didn't mean he couldn't be articulate, lying was common place in his profession as a lawyer. He had never practiced it, but he certainly knew how.

"Tager wasn't it? I wouldn't let him get to you Teru, he is dangerous." warned Light, cautious of Near's machinations. "He will scheme and plot our destruction, while having a conversation about something different. He is using it to judge your character."

"I gave him nothing my Lord, I refused to converse with him." answered Mikami immediately.

"Excellent Mikami, make sure he doesn't play you for a fool," warned Light "because he will if he can."

" _You played me for a fool because you could, didn't you Light?" thought Mikami to himself, enraged by the hypocrisy of his former God._

Mikami bit into his apple a little more forcefully, however he knew it wouldn't be noticeable. He was far too erratic in regards to his actions recently. Light would merely see it as Mikami getting annoyed thinking of the role Near played in their defeat.

"Of course not my God, I will remain at constant vigilance. He won't get anything by me." said Mikami seriously, but reassuringly.

Light nodded before sitting down on one of the seats in the room "Good, I am counting on you." He turned to look out the windows of the plane.

Suddenly an alert came on, it was announcement. All passengers were to take a seat, and buckle their seatbelts for lift off. There was a set of chairs. Two pairs with each pair opposite each other, Mikami would have normally sat beside his God, but instead he sat on the one opposite Light. He felt his ears pop as the altitude change, but he showed no discomfort. Light did, looking slightly uncomfortable with the feeling.

Mikami played the role of the concerned disciple "Are you alright my Lord?"

Light nodded his head "I am fine Teru, but thanks for asking. I know that I can count on you."

Light didn't count of Teru, he counted on himself, and the lawyer was but a pawn to him. He couldn't afford to let him become too autonomous, lest he fail Light again. Mikami needed to be guided, that was how he succeeded. With but a kind word, and comprehensive orders, the Fourth Kira could achieve great things for Light.

Light was counting on him, but Teru was counting something differently entirely. He was counting down until the trial, for that was his opportunity to start playing the geniuses against each other. They would see red for each other, giving him time to formulate a plan. He needed bail that much is certain. Chances are one person would get it, as the outrage of Kira not receiving bail would be damning. Equally the damage of both Kiras being allowed out freely would be damning as well. He needed to make sure that he got out, and not Light.

This was vital to his success; luckily he had the perfect intermediate with which to achieve this. Near. The boy would certainly hold some sway over the trial, if he could get the boy's approval to deny Light bail and give bail to himself. It would be infinitely useful. He would certainly try and stop Light from getting bail, the danger of the genius being allowed back to Japan was too high. Instead they would send the "subservient" Kira, the one who didn't do well on his own. If he could get bail, and Agent Barnes to watch over him, his success was all but guaranteed.

Mikami stared at Light, whom had fallen asleep on his chair. X-Kira straightened his tie before smiling deviously at the First Kira.

" _If there is one thing that you should be counting Yagami Light, it is your days."_

And with that, Mikami let himself fall into the abyss of sleep. He had plans to create, and foundations for lies to lay. But they could wait for now.


	7. Playing With a Killer

Light awoke, noticing that Teru wasn't there. This was odd considering that the room was locked, logic dictated that he had gone to the bathroom or had been taken out of the room and so Light accepted that explanation. He rubbed his eyes to clear any remaining sleep from them, before glancing out the window. They were still in the air, he didn't know for how long exactly as he had been sleeping. The plane, however, had left when it was day in Tokyo, and it was still day. That combined with his internal clock telling him he had slept for a long period of time led him to believe that they had left Asia far behind. They were approaching England, so Greenwich Mean Time would be in effect there, thus explaining why it was still day. Hopefully they were close, Light was bored and he had been awake for barely thirty seconds.

He missed L.

Light would admit it; he missed L for selfish reasons. It wasn't out of friendship or regret for killing an innocent man; it was because now he had no one who matched his intellect. Near was smart, very smart, but he was still only a child and his deductive skills were not on the same levels that Ryuzaki had been. Teru was smart, and he similarly lacked social skills like L, however despite his somewhat strange and awkward behaviour L had a charm to himself. Teru lacked that charm, Teru lacked a lot of things. That was why he would have to be replaced.

L in his opinion was his only worthy adversary, Mello and Near required each other to defeat him. L had come close on his own, but in a stroke of genius Light had defeated him. Arguably it was something L couldn't have prepared for, so he hadn't really outsmarted the detective, but it didn't make victory any less sweet.

The problem was that Light had come down from the high that the victory had gave him, and his battle with Near and Mello hadn't nearly been as entertaining. It was certainly a harder battle, and he lost the battle, but for some reason the battle of wits between two men was so much more fun than the battle of wits between one man and two others. Not only that, his victory over L had made him arrogant, which led to his current predicatment. So in a way L had won as well.

Light would be lying if he said that he wasn't interested in Wammy's house. The orphanage that raised child prodigies would certainly be an intriguing place. From what little he could discern, there was an entire alphabet of potential L successors. That was impressive and it was also a serious threat, if he was allowed free reign with the Death Note the game would change. He would no longer have to worry about being arrested and thus another L or some other super detective would not be as big a threat. But if he wasn't... the battle would get harder.

The trial might not go his way, but if it didn't there was still a chance of him escaping prison. The only problem would be securing a Death Note. Gelus' Death Note was in Near's hands as was Rem's. He could only hope that Ryuk would be willing to lend him his Death Note or steal Sidoh's Death Note again. But that was a consideration that he would have to address at a later point. Some form of bribery or promises of entertainment would be needed.

Light looked around the room and noticed a small mirror; he checked the symbols of the aeroplane making sure that it was safe for him to get up. After checking he made his way to the small mirror, and began staring at himself in the mirror. He was a mess, the suit and tie couldn't hide that. His hair needed cut and groomed, and he needed a small shave as well. He hoped once he got to England he would be allowed these things. Light prided himself in his appearance; he knew that he was attractive. Misa fawned over him and constantly complimented him, and Takada had also found him quite handsome as well. Half of this was caused by his genetics, he naturally was quite fetching but the other half was caused by how he kept himself.

He combed his hair and made sure it was acceptable, kept his face presentable and also kept his clothes in good condition. His appearance was one of his main weapons. This, combined with his excellent acting, outstanding intelligence and social skills, made sure that Light was easily able to further his own agenda. Many people didn't realise or couldn't accept that such a well-kept young man was also one of the most deceptive people on the Earth. Above all else Light was good at lying.

Light placed the mirror down carefully, making sure not to damage it before returning to his seat. Light was a patient man, he would wait until they landed because he knew he could. There was no point in rushing the trial, nor was there any point in delaying it. Light knew that everything would happen in due course. One could not rush justice. Besides it gave him more time to think of a plan.

As Light began to relax back into his seat he felt a bout of nausea and a falling sensation, he sat himself up again and smoothed the creases out of his jacket. He had never really gone on planes often, as his father was far too busy to take holidays longer than a week off work, but he knew the feeling. The plane was descending; he looked to see the plane was slightly tilted at an angle. It was probably turning to land on the runway or perhaps turning to go towards somewhere. He fastened his seat belt and smirked, justice was working fast today.

* * *

Teru Mikami was having a bad time, as Light was asleep and Near was bored he had been "asked" to play chess with Near. In reality the agents had forced him, none of them wanted to have their pride crushed by Near in a game of chess. So he was forced to take the brunt of the genius' skill in chess, it seemed that all brilliances were skilled in chess. Teru wasn't that brilliant, and he was rusty at chess. He had played it a few times in high school, but apart from that he was effectively a novice to chess. And Near. He was a master.

Teru had been called to play four hours ago and had been beaten sixteen times in that space of time, each chess game had lasted around fifteen minutes. The skill at which the Third L moved his pieces across the board was truly something spectacular, Mikami hadn't made a single move that Near hadn't anticipated. Each move Teru made was countered, and each move Near made claimed important pieces. Near made excellent use of his knights and rooks, and completely dominated the board with them. Mikami had never once gotten close to Near's queen, never mind his king. It was quite demoralising.

"Checkmate." said Near, having secured yet another victory.

Mikami stared at the board blinking in shock at yet another defeat before speaking "Yes it seems that way."

The agents had been watching in interest and Lidner spoke up "Maybe you should give up, being beaten sixteen times isn't enough for you to realise Near is very good at chess?"

Teru looked up at her and spoke "I am aware of my inferiority in this regard, however it is the only available pastime."

Near nodded before getting up, he looked at Gevanni "Could you go and get Light? I am sure he noticed our plane descending. It will still be another hour until we land on the airfield, which would be sufficient time to play a game of chess."

Gevanni nodded but spoke "What makes you sure he will accept?"

Near began curling his hair "Light is a competitive and intelligent individual, he will without a doubt jump at a chance to prove his superiority. What better way to do so than by beating me in a game of chess?"

Gevanni nodded and proceeded to leave the section of the aeroplane, walking his way to the section were Light was held. There were two guards outside were talking to each other, neither one seemed too lax however. They knew that the man behind the door they guarded was the largest serial killer in history or the greatest man to ever live, depending on who you ask.

Near patiently waited for Light's arrival, beating Mikami had been child's play. He hoped that Light would be a far tougher and more interesting opponent. Teru's style of play was overly mechanical; he relied on a set strategy of how to act. If someone acted in a way different to that strategy, in a way that the strategy didn't prepare for, he crumpled immediately. Light was good at improvising as well as laying complex plans however, Near was counting on that skill transferring to chess.

At that moment the aforementioned genius entered the room, he was escorted by Gevanni and seemed to be trying to converse with him. Either Gevanni wasn't in the mood for conversation, or he didn't like Light. Either way Light got no response from the agent. After realising that him trying to converse with the agent was fruitless, Light diverted his attention to the child prodigy and the chess board before him.

Light smiled "I suppose video games or puzzles couldn't keep you busy Near?"

Near shook his head "My puzzles are currently unavailable and I don't have a video game console of any description. Thus, it seems the only way to pass the time is to play a game."

Light chuckled, noticing Teru sitting on another seat "I suppose you forced Mikami to play against you. You know you could have just awoken me?"

Near shook his head "It would be rude to do so, besides judging by how you looked before you got on the plane, you needed to rest."

Light shook his head with mirth "Well I am awake now, so shall we play? I warn you, I was the best student at chess in my year at school."

Near nodded "I was considered the best successor to L, and therefore was considered the smartest child in an orphanage full of prodigies. I am sure I can compete with you sufficiently."

Light smiled before taking a seat "We're about to find out aren't we?"

Teru's eyes immediately fixated on the game about to take place, he made no moves to show he was watching with anything less than a bored disinterest, but in reality he was going to intently analyse the moves of the First Kira and the Second L.

The game was tense, tense being a massive understatement, as the abilities of Kira and L clashed again and again. Neither gave much way, despite Near's fluid use of bishops and knights to claim pieces, he was constantly countered by Light's pawns. Near was causing damage to Light, but he was suffering and had little to show for it. Light wasn't faultless either, he made a foolish blunder in moving a pawn; this left his queen which he had been using to great effect exposed. Near immediately capitalised taking the piece, but Light was still able to keep the child at bay barely.

While Near was constantly trying to counter Light's strategies and plans, Light was already improving upon it or even devising a new plan on the spot. Everyone present in the section of the aircraft stared in interest at the battle of giants currently taking place, none more so than Teru Mikami.

Chess could be used to analyse a person's way of acting in real life. Teru Mikami earnestly believed that, it could even be seen in the game currently taking place. While Light relied on strategies and plans, just as he had during his time with the Death Note, Near relied on understanding and combating Light's plans as well as intelligent guesses as to what move Light would make next. Neither seemed able to overcome the other, half an hour had passed and while pieces had been taken and lost by both side, neither seemed able to finish the other. This confirmed one thing for Mikami, the two geniuses were powerful in their own right but against each other they were incapable of vanquishing their rival. They were made infinitely more potent by some form of partner or accomplice.

As odd as it sounded, it was evidenced by the chessboard. Neither could trump the other, they were equals. It made perfect sense; Light had succeeded early on in his battle against L's successors because he had his many accomplices. And Near had prevailed because of Mello and the work of his SPK agents. Thus it became clear to Mikami that if he were to defeat either of them he would require an accomplice, as they would undoubtedly acquire new allies of their own.

He couldn't just kill Light, for he had no idea if Misa still remembered anything about the Death Note. If she linked it to Teru, it would result in death for him. He couldn't kill Near, as that would result in the SPK bringing down a metaphorical sledgehammer of investigators to root out who killed him. He needed them to both die, simultaneously but not independently. If he killed them via the Death Note suspicion would be rife, and he couldn't just shoot them. But how would he do it?

Regardless of the thoughts and other processes occurring in Mikami's head the prosecutor still kept a watchful eye of the developments on the chessboard. Neither of the two titans wanted to accept it, but a stalemate was becoming almost a certainty. They were running out of pieces to use in an effective manner, and while each had made gains, so had the other.

But suddenly Near began to make massive gains in regards to the influence he had on the chessboard. He had taken all of Light's pieces, save the king, but only had two pieces left. Those two pieces were his king and his queen; he had backed Light into the corner of H8. But Light's positioning was intentional, as a result of his blunder, Light would have lost the game. But he had fooled Near into thinking that he was still confident that he could win, and he had baited Near into a stalemate. Neither had won, the match was a draw.

Light looked disappointed in the draw but still smiled "I suppose we're evenly matched in chess Near, honestly you should work on your impulsive decisions. You had done great at analysing and countering my plans up until now, it is a shame you just were not able to even see the last one."

Near too seemed disappointed "I should have foreseen your strategy, I believed that you were unaware of the effect of your blunder. My overconfidence was my downfall in this situation. As there was no winner, we still seem to be equals."

Light glanced at the twenty-four hour clock showcasing the Greenwich Mean Time "Thirty minutes Near, how long do we have until we land?"

Near answered "Thirty minutes approximately, with a variation of five minutes either way."

Light smiled "That is more than enough to play another game don't you think?"

Near nodded in interest "Yes, a rematch would be enjoyable. I am confident this time I will win."

Light shook his head "Near, you have already lost you just don't know it, so shall we play?"

"No."

Both the genius and the SPK agents whipped their heads around to look at Teru.

"I would play again, I am confident this time I can present a challenge." said Mikami softly.

Light looked to Mikami and then to Near before smiling "Would you mind playing another game against him Near? I haven't seen him play yet, besides if you are as good at chess as you are supposed to be I am sure you could beat Teru easily."

Near looked at Mikami with curiosity, the prosecutor obviously had some form of gambit or ruse that he was going to play in this game. If Teru was watching his game and analysing how he played, then there was a significant chance that he would better understand what moves Near would make. His curiosity begged him to play again against Teru, and so he agreed.

"Very well, I will play against you again. If it stretches to the point we can't play our game Light, I am sure we can play again once we get to Wammy's House." said Near, already preparing to play against X-Kira. He was certain that the prosecutor had some form of plan or stratagem to defeat him, and he had to be ready for a complex strategy.

Once the chessboard was again set up, Mikami played as white instead of black as he had the previous few times. And as such he was to make the first move. He knew that Near was expecting a master strategy or some intelligent plan as he had analysed the game that Near had been playing with Light. But Mikami was depending on this overestimation, he was going to fool Near. There was no denying that the boy was a master at chess, but his common sense would betray him.

Mikami moved his pawn to E4 immediately, before waiting for Near's turn. The boy moved his pawn E5 to counter the pawn that Mikami had used. Teru then moved his queen to H5, it was a massive gambit. This would guarantee his defeat if Near stopped overestimating him, but if the boy still thought that this was all part of some master plan then Teru's victory was guaranteed.

Near moved his Knight to C6, this was a response to with Teru moving his Bishop to C4. After a moment of thinking, Near sprung the trap that Mikami had laid. He moved his knight to F6. Mikami immediately moved his queen to F7 the square he had been posturing for the entire game. His ploy had worked, the boy was so sure that Mikami was going to do something brilliant and complicated he failed to see a simple and easy to counter trick.

"Checkmate." declared Mikami calmly, neither showing any triumphalism or shame in his "cheap" tactic.

Near blinked several times at the board before looking up with shock on his face "A Scholar's Mate? You beat me with a Scholar's Mate?"

"I did, but it was only part of the plan. You overestimated me; you thought that I was going to do something that you would have to counter. In truth, I played on your anxiety and predictions, these aided my victory." answered Teru.

Suddenly clapping could be heard, the majority of the agents present turned to look a Light who was clapping slowly at Mikami's ploy. He was quite impressed by the simplicity of Mikami's trick, as well as the fact that he had beaten Near so quickly.

"Seems like he caught you out Near, in your defence I didn't see it coming either. I suppose it is like they say, intelligent people fail at doing simple things." said Light, with a smirk on his face.

Mikami straightened his tie before standing up and returning to the seat he had taken to observe the game Light and Near had played. Near had by this point overcame his shock before nodding at Teru's checkmate, he then beckoned for Light to play again.

Once again a colossal battle of giants was to take place, but Teru knew now how it would end. They would draw, neither would win. One might overcome the other, in one game at least, but the very next game they would lose. They were stuck in constant battle against each other and were evenly matched, but neither was capable of beating the other without a true advantage. They were, in a way, destined to do this forever.

Mikami knew that God had tasked him to stop this foolishness; he was on a divine mission. This game was his responsibility to end. Perhaps Light Yagami hadn't been God, but Teru Mikami was certain that a divine being was on his side. As long as this contest continued, justice was stilted, halted even. And so he would break down the metaphorical Walls of Jericho, these two titans stood in the ways of God's judgement and will, and as a loyal follower it was his duty to overcome this evil.

Teru straightened up and began observing the game again; looking at the clock it would seem that they would land in around twenty-five to twenty minutes. So the prosecutor smoothed out the creases in his apparel and fixed his tie so that it was straight; before calmly observing the game's proceedings with thorough scrutiny. Once again he probed for weaknesses in each of their moves, as he knew his observation was key to his success.

And his success must be guaranteed.

* * *

A medium sized teenager sat patiently in the reception area of Wammy's House; he had a small nose, and short combed brown hair. He had blue and green eyes as he had complete heterochromia. He was wearing a long sleeved shirt, as well as a small beret on his head. He was pale white, a side effect of remaining indoors for long periods of time. His nails were far too long, having not been cut for what seemed like months, and the only way that he kept them short was by biting them. As this was a nervous habit of his, he constantly bit his nails. This was C.

C's real name was Claude Delacroix. He was natively French, which was why he wore the beret to remind himself, but when brought to England for holiday his parents were killed in a car accident. While in regular circumstances he would be returned to the French fostering system, Quillsh Wammy had pulled a few strings, instead having him stay at Wammy's House. That was twelve years ago, and Claude hadn't once been outside Wammy's House's grounds since then. He was a social introvert and failed to connect with even his fellow orphan prodigies at Wammy's House, over the years this had led to his current state.

After the Beyond Birthday incident the two successors for L were gone. C was at one point the first in line to succeed L; however he was eventually surpassed by Near. Afterwards Mello took the second place and Matt the third, for this he was nicknamed Close. It was a pun on the letter of which he was identified by, and the fact he used to be close to succeeding L. Not that it mattered to C, he accepted that he wasn't better than Matt, Near or Mello, so he merely maintained his position as fourth in line. However the consequences of this change of ranking were far reaching.

Once a child reaches the age of eighteen in Wammy's House, having been recognised as an adult by the government of the United Kingdom, they are forced to leave. Most go on to have highly productive lives, using the excellent education they were given to great effect. Others don't react well to the outside world and disappear, never to be heard from again. Their fates were unknown to those inside the orphanage.

C was sixteen, he had turned sixteen yesterday on the 9th of February, but he was already worrying about the prospect of leaving Wammy's House. He was no longer eligible to succeed L, even with Mello and Matt dead, as Near had become the Second L. But his nervous habits, lack of social etiquette and fear of the outside world prevented him from leaving Wammy's House and going on to live a productive life. This prospect of a failed existence worried him immensely, which was why he was waiting in the reception now.

C wanted to talk with Roger, as Quillsh was dead; he was now in charge of Wammy's House. C wanted advice or help, his intelligence had always been something that he could prop himself up against. However he had been isolated from the outside world for too long and he was certain that no matter his intelligence, he would be consumed by it. The prospect of Roger suggesting something or someway he could get through this upcoming change was all he had to cling to. It was a long shot, but to be honest it seemed to be the only option.

C's head propped up noticing the door to the office opening. He met the eyes of a concerned Roger Ruvie, who was looking quite stressed. It was no surprise, the man was about to deal with two of the largest killers in history. Even with the support of Near and the SPK it would be hard. However Roger had a kind heart, and was more concerned by C wanting to see him than he was about the Kiras being housed in his orphanage.

"What is it Claude?" asked Roger, he was the only person not to call him C or Close.

"Can I speak to you in private?" asked C, already getting nervous.

"Of course my boy, come in." said Roger ushering the teenager into his office and onto a seat.

Once the teen had been seated and Roger had seated himself the elder man spoke "You seem sad, is something wrong Claude? And don't lie to me, I know you far too well."

C nodded miserably "Roger, I am not prepared for the outside world. The people, the cars, the noise, the smells, the tastes and the buildings scare me. I don't want to go out there; I'll die in a week lying in some gutter."

Roger tried to assuage the boy's fears "Don't worry; it is nearly as bad as you make it out to be. And you won't be alone; you know you can talk to me anytime."

"But I can't Roger!" said C who was getting very upset at this point "You have to many responsibilities, no matter what we promise each other, we won't be able to speak anymore. I don't want to leave here, please is there anything you can do, I would rather spend the rest of my life as the caretaker of the building than I would out there!"

Roger leaned back in his chair frowning "You know I can't do that Claude, besides I also can't let such potential go to waste. You could be a professor or scientist, how could I let you clean a building for the rest of your days?"

"Roger, I won't survive out there; I know this for a fact. Half the kids that leave this place don't last out there; most of them end of drug addicts or criminals themselves. If I go out there I will kill myself, and that isn't a bluff." said C forcefully, but with a hint of desperation.

Roger spoke with a tinge of sadness "Claude, I am sorry, but my hands are tied. Wammy's House has never allowed any past pupil to stay, and I can't make an exception, even for you."

Claude nodded despondently before standing up "I suppose it was a long shot, I may as well enjoy the two years I have left. Thank you for your time Roger, I will show myself out."

Roger raised his hand to stop the boy leaving, before deciding against that and lowering it. There was nothing he could do, and the boy needed to be alone. He watched the retreating lad slowly trudge his way back to the dormitories. Roger sighed, before sifting through the bundles of paperwork currently on his desk. He could only hope Near would take Claude into his investigation team, at this point it seemed the only option for the troubled boy.

C walked his way to the dormitories before collapsing onto his bed once he reached his room. The world seemed to be conspiring against him; he didn't know what to do now other than accept the inevitable. Life was not getting any easier for him so maybe he should stop trying.

C reached into the pocket of his shirt and pulled out a small crucifix, it was his mother's. It was all he had to remember his parents by. He had never been particularly religious, as most of the children in Wammy's House became atheists at a young age and there was no form of holy gatherings, but C did the only thing he could think of. He prayed. He prayed long and hard that something would save him, he beseeched God for mercy until he felt exhausted. He then fell to his bed and slept.

* * *

Light was sitting patiently in the newest mode of transportation he had found himself in. The constant movement was boring and tiring, but it did give him time to think. And these days Light Yagami did little else, numerous plans and schemes were being devised and rejected in his head. He didn't relax at all, but he still kept an air of nonchalance about the current proceedings. Light knew that it wouldn't do to show weakness in front of anyone, and so his relaxed personality was a kind of defence measure.

He and Near had drawn again, but at this point it really didn't matter. A game of chess wasn't going to decide who won the trial. That would rely on charisma and a solid defence. Light wasn't sure about the defence but he knew without a doubt that he possessed the charisma. His impeccable English would only help him.

He was mulling over what possible challenges he could face in the trial, he didn't know if it would be a single session or a string of proceedings. He knew there would be an initial hearing and a small bail would be on offer. Would it be a trial or tribunal? Was he entitled to a defence lawyer, or did he have to defend himself? Who was the judge? Would there be a jury? Would it be public, or had Near somehow kept it quiet? All these questions flooded his head, and Light Yagami had no answers. This left him aggravated, as it was a problem not even his intelligence could solve.

As he was not in a talkative mood he didn't speak to Teru or the agents in the vehicle with them. He was above idle conversations with fools; if they had even a shred of intelligence they would be helping him. When he got the Death Note, they would regret crossing him. Especially Matsuda, that idiot had betrayed him completely and utterly. He would be dealt with, he should have known better than to even consider shooting a God. The fact he hadn't done it didn't make things better for him. He was going to let Matsuda live originally, but he had doomed himself. For some reason his betrayal stung the most.

Light thought his current situation was actually quite pathetic, he was being carted around like some form of trophy with no say in the matter. They treated him like he was some common criminal; there was nothing more demeaning for him. His pride didn't deal well with the constant insults and stares.

Light's thoughts were cut short by the van coming to a stop, judging by the agents getting up, Light had reached his destination. It was a long drive; he hoped that the wait was worth it. The prospect of meeting a school full of geniuses was the only thing saving him from boredom.

Light stood up, he noticed the agent's uneasiness, but took no notice of it. Once the door had been opened he calmly stepped out of the vehicle. The first thing that struck him about England was that it was cold, well cold compared to his native Japan. It also seemed to be raining. Light immediately began walking towards some form of cover; he didn't care if the agents didn't want him wandering off. He ran to the large building in front of him.

After struggling to open the doors for a moment, Light finally made his way into the building that awaited him. A large hall greeted him, with Near talking to an old gentleman in some form of suit.

Near turned around to Light "Welcome to Wammy's House Light, the place that raised L."

Light smirked, finally he made it. Today was going to be a good day.


	8. Conversing With God

Teru had been moved to his room, where he would be spending the day before the trial, and was left to his own devices for the day. It was a barren and simple room; most likely an orphan had once had it, but had left taking with them everything that had made it special. Teru was glad it was so simple; it reminded him of his home. He never really had been interested in decorating his house, it was neat and clean. That was all he cared for.

Teru sat down on the bed, and put his hands in his head. This was what he did every time he had a spare stretch with nothing he could do. He sat and remembered, he remembered everything. He reminisced on the good parts of his life and the bad parts. It was monotonous and robotic, but it kept him calm and comfortable. After all, Teru had always taken comfort in order.

Order was always there for him, it usually didn't rely upon anything other than him. He didn't have to worry about unexpected surprises or problems, because order kept his affairs in check. He didn't have to worry about losing a book, because every book in his library was catalogued alphabetically and in genres. He didn't have to worry about debt, because he kept track of his taxes and bills. That was the beauty of order.

There was an opposite to order as well, Chaos. It was something that Teru Mikami abhorred and feared. Chaos had been in his life since his earliest years; it had manipulated and wormed its way into his psyche. It would come to destroy his beloved order and left him feeling nothing but anger and disgust.

The first major example of chaos was none other than his mother dying, it wasn't planned. Teru hadn't prepared for it; his schedule didn't state that this would happen. But it did. And Teru had been left alone; his father had walked out on him when he was a child leaving his mother alone.

At the time he hadn't understood why his father had walked out, he obviously loved his mother and she loved him too. His mother loved his father more than she loved him. But after years of thinking about it, it became very apparent why his father had walked out. It also became very apparent why his mother looked at him with regret and sadness. She loved him, she truly did, but that didn't change the fact that he was a mistake.

His mother and father hadn't planned to have him, they were married yes, but the marriage was still young when his mother became pregnant with him. His father obviously couldn't take it, but he tried to put up with the stress of rearing a child. But when Teru was two, his father had left him and his mother. And the worst thing was, his mother would have left too if she could. She unconditionally loved her son, but that didn't change the fact that he was a burden that she didn't want to bear.

And so Mikami grew up in a fatherless home, without having a male role model, and his personality developed oddly. His mother wasn't home all the time, and she wasn't well off in terms of finances, so she had to work long hours. Teru became self-sufficient quickly, by the age of seven he was capable of making his own dinner and cleaning around the house. But he still wasn't good at one thing, making friends.

At pre-school Teru was incapable of forming bonds with anyone, he was a moody child, and cared little for what others had to say. But he did take one thing from pre-school, and that was a small manga. He couldn't remember what it was really about; he didn't know how he had gotten a hold of it. A teacher had probably left it lying, but regardless Teru brought it home. He never had a television, and the radio was turned off most of the time to save power. So he jumped at the chance to entertain himself.

The manga wasn't really that interesting, as far as he could recall. It was a miracle that he could even read it, although it could be that his poor grasp of his language damaged his enjoyment of it. Regardless he read the manga, and remembered one scene, a boy protecting another weaker boy from a bully. In other words, his passion for justice was born from a desire to be a hero like the one in that manga.

So when he went elementary school at the age of seven, he was overjoyed that there were bullies present. He was a strong child, as a result of him doing chores around the house, and so he protected many children from bullies and their gangs. It didn't matter what the bullies did to Teru, nor did it matter how much trouble he got into for his violent ways of dealing with bullying. All that mattered was the words.

"Thank you."

Those words drove Teru to do it again and again, he thought he had friends. His intelligence and kindness allowed him to get the title of class president by the age of eight. But still, there was bullying, and so Teru kept attacking bullies. He would walk home with cuts and bruises; he would take the battering the bullies would dish out. He would walk home with a smile on his face, why? Because of those two words.

"Thank you."

And so Teru was in a way addicted, he needed to hear those words. They validated his existence; his mother didn't seem to care for him at times. His father left him to rot, and his relatives looked down on him for causing his mother misery. And so those two words proved that he was worth something, anything! And so he did it again and again and again.

By the end of elementary school, he had united the class against bullying. No longer would the victims cower in front of violence, which brought him great hope. And for the first time in his life, it brought true happiness to Teru.

But things changed in middle school, what once had brought him great pleasure was lost on him. His class was still full of bullies, who had become stronger than ever before. In order to fit in, victims who he had once defended turned into the very things he had protected them from. And it hurt Teru bad.

But he struggled on, every day he would come home covered in bruises. And every day he would go back and suffer more beatings, and the cycle would repeat constantly. His glasses often broke, which put even more strain on his mother. Mikami realised this, but he couldn't stop. He needed to hear the words, he needed to be validated.

"Thank you."

But seeing her son constantly beaten proved too much for his mother who confronted him one time after dinner. He remembered it like yesterday.

* * *

* **Flashback***

Teru entered his home; it had been a rough day for him. Daichi and Hideo had really punished him, the bruises were purple. They hurt horribly, but he wouldn't complain about them. It had never helped him before, so why would it now?

He took of his shoes and inspected his glasses. One of the lenses was broken, which was a problem. He had broken his glasses twice this month, his mother certainly wouldn't be happy. He carefully put then back on, his vision without them was horrible.

He looked at the clock in the living room; it was five O'clock, so that meant dinner would be ready shortly. He was about to get himself cleaned and ready for dinner, but his mother stopped him.

"Teru could you come and set the table, we are having tempura tonight?" asked his mother, still finishing the meal.

"Of course mother." replied Teru, and so he went about doing as he was asked.

As he was setting the table and getting out the plates, he noticed that his mother was looking at him. She probably saw the bruises on his face, as funny as it was; Teru had developed a clever way of disguising them. He put on his mother's makeup, she always though that he was trying to cheer her up and always laughed at him.

But today, he hadn't gotten the chance; he wasn't properly out of his uniform yet. And so his mother had seen that he had been injured, and Teru almost knew what was going to happen. Regardless he set the table and sat down waiting for his mother to serve the dinner.

Once his mother had done so and sat down, he began to eat in silence. He didn't meet his mother's gaze, but he knew that she was looking straight at him. After finishing he made a move to leave, but his mother grabbed his hand. And so he sat.

After finishing her meal, she placed the dishes at the sink and sat down again and looked at him. Her look said it all to Teru, the disappointment and anger was palpable.

"Teru, how did you get those cuts and bruises?" asked his mother, staring at her son calmly.

Teru Mikami didn't like lying "I got them when trying to stop some bullies from hurting another child."

"And they broke your glasses?" asked Mrs Mikami, already knowing the answer.

"They broke my glasses." replied Teru, finding his lap a more interesting thing to look at.

"Teru, not everything in the world is going to work the way you want it to. You have to stop doing this! There is no reason for you to suffer so much for your beliefs." said Mrs Mikami.

Teru looked up, facing his mother with a look of shock, and some shame for disappointing his mother again.

"What do you think you are proving by getting hurt like this?" asked Teru's mother.

As his mother continued to explain why what he was doing was wrong, Mikami filtered out the rest of what she was saying. She had betrayed him! He didn't have any friends, his relatives didn't like him. His father didn't want him! All he had was the unconditional love that his mother gave him, and now she had abandoned him!

Teru stood up and looked at her "You can't sit on the fence; one must confront evil to stop it! You are just as bad as the bullies at my school."

Mrs Mikami looked at him "Teru, I am your mother and I will be treated with respect. I will not be spoken too by a child in this manner!"

Teru frowned "Mother, I know you didn't plan to have me. But could you please tell me, do you regret having me?"

His mother frowned and a lone tear trailed down her cheek "Teru, there isn't a day gone by that I don't regret having you. But that doesn't mean I don't care for you, it isn't your fault that you caused me problems."

Teru looked down at his feet "So, if you could do it all again, you wouldn't have me?"

His mother didn't answer that que1stion but Mikami knew the answer. He excused himself before walking to his room. That night was one of the worst he had ever had. It was the first time he had cried.

 ***End Flashback***

* * *

He prayed that night; he had never really been that religious. But he prayed to whatever God was willing to listen to him. He prayed for some form of divine intervention, for something to end the troubles plaguing him. And then the miracle happened.

His mother was killed by four of the worst bullies in his school while they were joyriding. It killed all four plus his mother instantly. Thus it seemed obvious to him, God had judged the bullies to be evil and his mother as well. Thus God had killed them, and although Teru was scared about the consequences of losing his mother, he soon became glad about what had happened.

He went to orphanage, and lived in that orphanage till adulthood. He used his intellect and work ethic to succeed and became a prosecutor at the young age of twenty-three. It seemed as if life was going well for him.

The reason Teru Mikami accepted his mother's death and declared her evil was simple. He believed God had done it, in this way Teru was able to rationalise the deaths of anyone. In this way Teru rationalised his actions with the Death Note, as God had made sure that it was given to him. In this way Teru rationalised betraying Light, as he wasn't God, and God wanted Teru to fix the world.

Teru Mikami wasn't and isn't evil, he simply believes that everything he is doing has to happen. He is dangerous because he lacks a moral conscience, as he doesn't need one to do the work he believes some God has given him. He has a sense of purpose that is terrifying because he believes he is on a divine mission. The same way Light will rationalise committing evil acts by stating that it is for the good of the world, Mikami will do so believing it is what God wants.

* * *

C was walking purposelessly around the halls of the orphanage. Roger had ordered the orphans stay inside, on account of there being two insane mass murderers staying in the same building, but C didn't really care. He only had two years left anyway; he would rather die in Wammy's House than outside.

There were plenty of agents roaming the halls, so C had to make his way through the ventilation to get past the areas they were present in. Then he could continue his stroll with no worries or interruptions. As he walked, he felt boredom scraping the inside of his head. He needed something to do, purpose was something C valued above anything. He always felt that he needed to go do something. And so C decided that he would do something interesting.

C would speak to one of the Kiras.

He knew whereabouts they were staying, it wasn't hard to deduce that, but the problem was the cameras. The agent or whoever was in charge of the cameras would notice a sixteen year old running around near where the Kiras were sleeping. So again, he would have to use the ventilation.

As he crawled through the vents, he saw the many rooms where the agents were staying. The orphanage was capable of catering to two or three times the number of orphans it currently had, so the agents were allowed their own rooms. It didn't matter about the agents however; he was looking for one of the Kiras.

To be honest, he didn't know what he was looking for. As easy as it would be to jump into the room with the first vaguely Japanese looking man, there were a few representatives of the Japanese police force present. Last thing he needed was to be sent back to his room because of a simple mistake like that.

However fate was on his side, as he quickly found whom he thought to be one of the Kiras. The person he thought was one of the Kiras was a very serious looking man, sitting with his hands in his head. It was one o'clock in the morning, and the agents had just come over from Japan. The ones who weren't on patrol were sound asleep, only an insane murderer would be awake in such circumstances.

C carefully removed the grate, which opened the vent allowing him access to the room. He did so silently, not that it mattered, the man sitting on the bed seemed to be in his own little world. He quietly hopped down behind him, there were two vent openings one of which faced the man, last thing he needed to do was drop in front of him and startle him. He would probably scream and alert any nearby agents.

So C decided to go for a more subtle option. He poked the man on the shoulder, praying to whatever deity there was that he wouldn't cry out in surprise. To C's disbelief, the man didn't.

Teru turned around to face the intruder in his room, a teenager by the looks of it. He was wearing a long sleeved shirt, and was now nervously biting on his nails. As odd as the entire sight was, Teru honestly didn't really care.

C greeted the man "ohayō gozaimasu."

Mikami shook his head "It is the early hours of the morning, so that greeting isn't correct. Never mind that, I speak fluent english."

The boy looked up "Are you one of the Kiras?"

Teru blinked "Yes, I am."

The boy nodded "Oh."

Mikami tried to initiate conversation "Why are you here?"

The boy answered quickly "I wanted to meet you."

Mikami's eyebrow lifted slightly, showing his disbelief and surprise.

Teru tried to initiate conversation again "Is there anything particular you wanted to ask me? A child doesn't just sneak in to the room of one of the most dangerous men on Earth without a reason."

This time it worked the boy stopped chewing his nails and actually smiled.

"What does sushi taste like?" asked the teenager, his eyes showing childlike glee which was odd for his age.

"It tastes… ok." answered Teru, who was rubbing his eyes in an attempt to vanish what he thought to be an illusion.

"Oh forgive me, I have been so rude. I haven't introduced myself, I am C-.." began the teen, only to be cut off.

"You are Claude Delacroix, and I am Teru Mikami. It is a pleasure to meet you." said Mikami calmly, utilising his Shinigami Eyes to great effect.

"How did you know that?" asked a now scared C.

"My eyes allow me to see the names of people above their heads." answered Mikami nonchalantly.

"That's… that's…" began C, only to be cut off again.

"Impossible, odd, unlikely, terrifying or strange?" offered Teru, curious as to what the boy would say.

"Actually I think that is pretty cool, I bet they are really useful." said C, impressed with the Teru's ability.

Teru began staring at the boys nails, they were a disgrace. He had never seen such disorderly nails in his life, he checked the drawers for a pair of nail clippers. C did not know this so continued talking.

"You have nice hair; I have never seen someone with hair as long as yours. It is longer than all the girls in this place, is it common on the outside world for men to grow their hair that long?" asked C, while staring at his own short brown hair in a small mirror.

"Not particularly, it isn't the most popular haircut, but it isn't rare either. And what do you mean by the "Outside World"?" asked Teru, finally having found the nail clippers.

"Well I haven't ever been outside the orphanage, not since twelve years ago anyway. I am scared of the world; I can't make many friends to be honest. The only reason I struggle to make friends is because I can't understand them. They have such complex emotions, it scares me because I can't hold a conversation about what the weather is like with someone my age." explained C.

"And how am I different?" asked Mikami, staring at the boy intently.

"Well, I don't really know and that scares me as well. You just seem simple, and I don't mean you are stupid or anything, you just don't seem to waste time with emotions to be honest." answered C "For example, you haven't frowned or smiled once in this entire exchange. You expression has stayed the same, which is an act I can follow. Consistency is the key to success in my book."

"I don't waste time in such matters; I don't need to express how I feel all the time. So, you are scared of the outside world? Why?" asked Mikami.

"Well, I am too stunted socially to make friends with anyone on the outside, and there are people who would kill me for the clothes on my back. I can't live out there, if the criminals don't have me strung up by the end of the week, I will have myself strung up." said C, now looking down at his feet.

"You are right; there are a lot of criminals in the world outside. That was what I was striving to fix, Kira kills criminals making it a better place for those afraid of the creatures that roam the streets." said Teru, raising the nail clippers.

"But isn't that counter intuitive, fixing murder with murder?" asked C, staring curiously at the Fourth Kira.

Teru elected not to answer the question at the moment instead asking another "Can I have your hands for a moment, your nails are in a horrific state. I will clip them for you."

C stared at him for a moment, before nodding "I suppose so, I haven't cut them properly in years. I think a change would be nice."

As he was clipping his nails Teru spoke "Do you believe in God?"

"God?" asked C.

"An omniscient, omnipresent and omnipotent entity. He sees all, knows all and can do all." explained Teru.

"Yeah, I know that. But what does it matter? I didn't really use to believe in him, but I am praying to him now that I may have some luck in this life of mine." said C.

"I matters more than you think, you see God himself has tasked me to dispose of criminals. Now what do you think?" asked Teru, having finished clipping C's right hand.

"I think that is bit strange, are you sure? I know you are capable of some amazing feats, it require some sort of supernatural assistance to kill criminals via heart attacks and not even be there." said C, using his free hand to tap his chin ponderingly.

"When a person speaks to God, it is called religion. When God speaks to a person, it is called insanity. We couldn't ever understand how God works, but we know he works in magnificent ways. It is no coincidence that I was put in the position to dispose of criminals using supernatural means." explained Teru, he clipped the final nail on C's left hand.

"I see where you are coming from, so you think you are the instrument of God?" said C, trying to appease his curiosity.

Teru looked up "Aren't we all? All we need to do is accept that we are, and he will give us something to do."

C nodded before speaking "Thanks for cutting my nails; it can't be healthy to keep biting them. Anyways, if I accept that God is guiding my life and let him do so, would it get any better?"

Teru thought for a moment before speaking "Why be afraid if a divine being is guiding your actions? It doesn't matter if you don't understand what is going on, because God does."

C smiled "Alright, I'll give it a try. Thanks for the advice; you know for a super mass murderer you seem ok. I owe you two favours."

"Two?"

"I owe you one for the advice and one for cutting my nails."

Teru nodded "In time I will ask you for something, but until then do go and enjoy yourself. The last thing you want to do is waste free time in childhood, if you spend all of childhood wanting to grow up. You will then spend the rest of your life wanting to be younger."

C smiled again before jumping and climbing into the vent he had come through. He closed the grate behind him, leaving Teru to his thoughts again.

Teru glanced at the clock. It was two O'clock now; it wouldn't do to stay up all night. Near had said the preliminary hearings would be held tomorrow; if he wanted to be in shape and lucid for those hearings, he would need to have at least five hours of sleep. Six if there was no coffee to wake him up appropriately.

And so Teru lay down on his bed, staring at the roof. He frowned, this trial was a sham. He shouldn't have to go through such effort to do what is morally right, but justice never comes easy. He needn't be afraid however, God was guiding him.

* * *

Light awoke late that morning, which was peculiar for him. He got up and put on his clothes, making sure to straighten them so that they were respectable. It wouldn't do for him to look bad in front of the judge.

Once he was done cleaning himself, and was prepared to leave the room, he sat and waited. The clock left in his room was to wake him up and hour early, at nine O'clock. It was now five to ten; they would be coming to get him soon.

Suddenly there was a knock on his door, and so Light sat up preparing himself to go and meet the trial. He wondered if the agent wanted his permission to come in, regardless of whether or not he wanted it, Light would tell him to do so.

"You can come in, I am ready." said Light, tapping his foot impatiently.

"Are you sure Light? I can wait five minutes if you need some time?" said a familiar voice.

"Matsuda you idio-"began Light before realising what he said was a habit "Matsuda?"

There was a silence at the door before Touta spoke "Yeah?"

" _Why would they send Matsuda of all people? They know he was the one hit hardest by me being revealed to be Kira. Do they want him to shoot me?" thought Light to himself._

"Just come in Matsuda, I suppose you want to talk to me don't you?" asked Light, preparing himself for an awkward confrontation.

The door opened, revealing the young detective. He walked into the room with hesitation, and frowned in sadness when he saw Light.

"Well two things, the trial has been delayed by thirty minutes. One of the prosecutors has been caught in some bad traffic jam. And yeah, I do want to talk to you for a while, do you have time?" said Touta.

"Yes I have time Matsuda, take a seat or lean against the wall. Something tells me this is going to be a difficult talk." said Light, sitting himself down on the bed again.

"Why did you do it?" asked Matsuda, his eyes slightly wet.

"Didn't I explain in the warehouse?"

"You did, but I want to hear it from you, not Kira."

"We are the same person Matsuda, Light Yagami is Kira. Kira is Light Yagami."

"I don't believe that, I know I am stupid Light, but don't tell me bullshit. The way you acted in that warehouse is completely different to how you are acting now."

Light frowned "Fine, you want my reason? I'll tell you Matsuda, and only you. What I say doesn't leave this room."

Matsuda nodded "My lips are sealed; I just want to know why."

"I was bored."

"What?" Matsuda said, shocked by Light's admission.

"You heard me, I was bored. When I was in school the days seemed to drag on, each day identical to the last beside a few changes."

"You killed people because you were bored?" asked Matsuda, shaking his head in disbelief.

"No, I used the Death Note because I was bored. There is a difference. When I found it I saw an opportunity, I could take care of my boredom, and make the world a better place as well. It seemed like the perfect idea, the world was saved from crime, and I was saved from boredom." explained Light.

"But why did you kill the FBI agents, Raye Penber and the others were innocent!" asked Matsuda.

"In hindsight, if I had known he didn't suspect me, I would have let him go on his merry way. But L said he was going to have me executed, I couldn't let that happen. So it was do or die for me, if it means anything I somewhat regret the FBI agents' deaths."

"Somewhat?"

"The entire plot I orchestrated to dispose of them was interesting as well, believe it or not. You know killing them almost screwed me over."

"What do you mean?"

"Raye Penber's fiancée Naomi Misora, the woman was a genius. She figured out that the Death Note could kill people in ways other than a heart attack, in fact she was going to tell L all about it."

Matsuda closed his eyes in sadness "And you killed her too?"

Light nodded "Yeah, it was hard. As I said she was smart, but I tricked her into giving out her real name."

"And then?"

"And then you remember the rest, the Yotsuba Kira and the likes. It was all a distraction; it got me into a good position with the task force." explained Light.

"And then you killed L" said Matsuda frowning in sadness.

"Don't look so glum, you and I both know that bastard didn't give a damn about you. I was your only true friend in that entire task force. He thought you were an idiot and he treated you as such, that was the problem with L. He treated everyone as if they were beneath him, not openly mind you, but he did so nonetheless." said Light, smiling thinking of his victory.

"You're right; you were my only true friend. That is why you being Kira is making this so much harder, think if you were in my shoes. How would you feel? You find out someone who you considered one of your closest friends is secretly a mass murdering psychopath!" said Matsuda, his frown deepening.

"Touta, I never meant for things to turn out the way they did. I got a little carried away is all." said Light in a dismissive manner.

"Carried away? You were going to kill us all!"

"Actually, I was planning on letting you live. I was the least I could do for a friend; unfortunately you don't seem to see me as such anymore. I suppose it was inevitable, Gods don't have friends."

Matsuda sat up "Come on, we have to get to the trial now. We should be there five minutes early."

Light nodded and stood up "Alright, I suppose you are to handcuff me?"

"Yeah I am."

Light extended his hands and allowed himself to be handcuffed, before following his former friend to the area where the trial was going to be held.

"Light," Touta began "for what it is worth. Although I feel betrayed by you, I still see you as my friend. If you end up in prison or executed, I'll look after your sister and mother for you."

Light looked at him for a moment before smiling slightly "Thanks Matsuda, hopefully it won't come to that."

And the pair walked off towards the trial.


	9. The Initial Hearing of God

As Light entered the room, he stopped and breathed in deeply, before smiling and continuing. He could see the layout of the room, and the faces of everyone present. This put him at ease, as he now had an idea of what the trial was going to be like. It was a vague knowledge, but it was better than nothing.

Light saw the desk he and Mikami would be sitting at, and the seat for a witness. He wondered who would be called forward to give testimony. The seat for the prosecutor was already filled by one, but the seat for a defence lawyer was curiously empty.

Light noted the absence; he would make a point about it later. What was important was analysing the looks of the jury, while some seemed angry with his presence, others seemed sympathetic or indifferent. It could be summed up easily, each mood towards him had a third of the jury backing it. In other words, a third was angry, a third was indifferent, and a third was sympathetic. He would have to bring the indifferent ones to his side at some point in the entirety of the trial.

Light was guided to his seat by Matsuda and, after quietly thanking Touta, he sat himself down. He kept himself serious for the moment, smiling would do little to help, and elected to wait for Mikami to arrive. The trial wouldn't proceed until the former prosecutor was brought here.

Fortunately for Light, it didn't take long for the erstwhile civil servant to make an appearance. He was being carted along by Agent Hall, who was frowning, while Teru himself seemed very indifferent.

After Agent Hall brought Mikami up to the defendants' stand, Teru uncharacteristically thanked her, before sitting himself down. He sat very still, and observed the faces of every person in the trial. Light assumed it was in case he needed to speak to someone.

The Judge already looked weary, and the trial had yet to begin. Light didn't blame him, it was unlikely he had ever tackled such a massive case, and he had certainly never had one where no one was sure whether the defendants were right or wrong to kill so many people.

"All rise for the honourable Judge Bailey." said the Bailiff.

Out of courtesy Light stood, as did the jury, as well as all of the S.P.K agents who had come to spectate. Even Near stood up showing his respect. Teru however sat firmly in his seat, staring blankly at a wall.

"Defendant Teru Mikami, your refusal to stand is in contempt of the court. Please stand!" said the Bailiff frowning at the Fourth Kira.

Teru looked up "I don't recognise this court's authority, and refuse to stand in front of anyone but God."

Light noted Teru's determination, before deciding that his stubbornness would do more to harm the perception of Kira than help it. The last thing he needed was Teru's fanaticism throwing a spanner in the works.

Light leaned down and whispered "Stand for me then."

Teru was inwardly enraged by the audacity of Light to still claim he was God, but he hid it well. He didn't need Light interfering with what he was planning to do, and so he stood up.

The Bailiff nodded "Very well, I will hand over to the Judge."

"Thank you, we have brought the defendants here today to try them for the murders of approximately," the Judge looked down at a record before looking up "fifty thousand people."

Light watched impassively and waited for the Judge to continue.

"We also have brought you here, to incriminate you as the entity known as Kira."

Light nodded slowly, waiting for the Judge to continue once more, to be honest he was just spewing useless verbatim introductions. The man was still trying to treat this as a normal case.

"And finally we have brought you here, to see whether you were wrong to kill the people you did."

Teru still stared impassively at the wall; he seemed have no interest in the trial.

"Light Yagami, you stand here with the charge of the causing the deaths of forty thousand people, how do you plead?"

"Guilty." said Light, to the shock of the jury.

"You also stand here with the charge of being Kira, how do you plead?"

"Guilty, I am Kira." said Light, with little hesitation.

"Finally, you have been charged with killing forty thousand people unlawfully and without justification, how do you plead?"

"Not guilty." said Light, before sitting down.

Judge Bailey nodded before looking to Mikami "Teru Mikami, you are charged with helping with the murders of approximately ten thousand people. How do you plead?"

"Not guilty, I didn't murder them." said Teru, to the confusion of the court.

"So you are saying you didn't kill ten thousand people?" asked the Judge, rubbing his eyes in disbelief.

"No, I plead guilty to killing ten thousand criminals, not to murdering ten thousand people." explained Teru, standing tall and looking at the court with contempt.

"Very well, you also are char-" began the Judge.

"Where are our defence lawyers?" asked Teru irritably, pointing out something Light had noticed as well.

"Don't interrup-" began the Bailiff, only for himself to be cut off.

"Do not interrupt me Bailiff John Cox, I will repeat my question, where are our defence lawyers?" asked Teru, shooting a look of anger at the Bailiff.

The Judge regained his bearings "You are not entitled to one."

"Why not?"

"This is a special case; it doesn't follow regular court proceedings."

"Why? The Nazis on trial at Nuremburg received defence attorneys."

"This case is different to the Nuremburg Trials."

"That may be so, but that doesn't change that this trial is unfair. In its current iteration, this is nothing less than a Kangaroo Court which is deliberately making it unfair for the defendants."

"That's enough, this trial wi-" the Judge tried to regain his momentum, but he was once again stopped.

"Are you willing to risk the backlash trying us unfairly will generate? All it takes is for one member of the jury to even vaguely sympathise with us, for everything you hope to achieve to go to hell."

Light stood up as well "He is right. If even one person leaks to the internet that we are being tried here, which we all know will happen, you will have to deal with protestors outside. How can you trust them to remain civil? The protest will very quickly become violent unless we are represented fairly."

The Judge frowned, rubbing his head, before speaking "Very well, I will leave it to the deliberation of the Jury. If they find it necessary, then you will get your defence, this court is adjourned for thirty minutes to allow this discussion.

With that, the Jury left the room, having gone to discuss in private. Light was growing impatient with this farce, he honestly couldn't believe this. He had spent a large amount of time preparing for the trial of the century, and he was stuck with a barely functioning court which was in shambles.

He looked to the spectators' seating, he could see a few of Near's S.P.K task force agents there, along with the child detective himself. It was odd to see the boy looking somewhat presentable; he was even in some form of suit.

Light began impatiently tapping his foot, thirty minutes was ridiculous, and he had spent so much time waiting for this trial. What was the result? The result was the imbeciles talking about the weather for twenty five minutes, then discussing whether or not he was entitled to a defence for five minutes.

Still, he was grateful for Mikami bringing it up, it saved him the effort. The former prosecutor had a way of stating things bluntly, it was incredibly useful. Sometimes it was refreshing to see someone who didn't bother themselves with unnecessary mannerisms.

"Teru?" asked Light, smiling lazily, "Could you answer a few questions for me?"

Mikami nodded "Very well, what do you want to know? God?"

"Why are there so many S.P.K agents? Last time I talked with Near about it, he said there were only four members including himself." asked Light, he could already guess the answer, it was just idle conversation to pass the time.

"From what I can discern, the S.P.K we know is in fact a task force. Near's S.P.K task force are a select group of individuals Near has probably picked himself. However, the S.P.K either is similar in size to the CIA and F.B.I, or it has the ability to draw members from each of those organisations."

Light nodded, before leaning back in his chair "That would explain things; I wish the trial had taken place in Japan. It is too cold here, besides that, the amount of protestors will be smaller than if we were in Tokyo."

Mikami scanned the room, there were several windows spread throughout the place. They were small, and high off the ground, but it would seem that a decent shot could throw rocks through them.

"If you feel my opinion is necessary, I think the protestors will show up in reasonable amounts. It is the trial of the century, news channels and other forms of media will certainly sensationalise the event. They have probably managed to keep the trial quiet by only telling everyone where it will take place today, but tomorrow the news will probably have broken loose."

Mikami blinked, before turning to the large wooden doors that allowed entrance into the court, they were hardly reinforced. Apart from two agents standing by the door, there was very little to prevent a forced entry.

"What do you think Teru? Do you think we will make it through the trial?" said Light, searching Mikami's eyes.

"Of course we will make it through God, how could we not? Your divine power ensures that our righteous cause will be sympathised with." answered Teru, playing his fanatical accomplice card.

" _False idol."_

"Ah, I suppose you are right, I like to be as realistic as possible about these situations. I suppose I needn't tell you what's at stake here if we do lose."

"You need not, I am aware that the consequences of an unfair verdict will be… dire."

"Teru, I will reward you for your loyalty. Once we return to our work, you and I will rule unopposed. You will be my most loyal disciple, at the right hand of his God. You would be my Archangel; no one would share the power you would have. Only you will have the ear of a God."

" _I have him hook line and sinker."_

Mikami bowed his head "I would be unworthy of such an honour God, but if you see fit to bestow it upon me, I have no reason to argue."

" _I bow to no one but God, Light Yagami, you are no God!"_

Light relaxed back into his seat, glancing at the clock on the wall. After seeing the time he frowned "Shouldn't they be back by now, the weather can't be that interesting."

Mikami replied "They are coming now my Lord."

In cue with the prosecutor's words, the jury entered through the large doors, before taking their place back in the stand. The Judge expectantly stared at them, awaiting an answer. Although he tried to hide it nervousness and fear were present on his face.

A member of the Jury stood up; he spoke clearly but with slight distain. He was probably one of the anti-Kira members. "We of the Jury agree that defendants Light Yagami and Teru Mikami should be entitled to a lawyer and thus defence against unfair accusations. The Jury would also like to express its disgust with the current state of proceedings; this is clearly a result of outside government interference in the trial's fairness. We, however, feel that the hearing can be continued for the sake of bail allocation and other such matters."

The Judge swallowed before nodding "Noted, the motion is agreed then, by the next hearing the defendants will have a defence attorney."

The Bailiff turned to face the Kiras "Are these terms acceptable?"

Light smiled calmly and pleasantly "If they are acceptable for the Jury, then they are acceptable for me."

Teru frowned "I would prefer to have a defence now, but I will accept these terms, do not try to prosecute us however."

The Judge nodded, before turning to the Prosecutor. He nodded, motioning the Prosecutor to make his case for who was most suitable to be allowed bail, although it was likely he would try to make sure none of them got bail, he was in an untenable situation.

The Prosecutor stood up bowing his head respectfully before the Judge "Your honour it would be in the best interests of the court to make sure that neither one of these men is granted bail, but as we already know, that won't happen."

The Judge nodded before motioning for the prosecutor to continue.

"I will try to make a case for why neither man should be given bail; you may select which one you find less dangerous or feel is a preferable alternative to the other."

The Prosecutor turned to Light, who was smiling in a pleasant manner "First we have defendant Light Yagami, while a pleasant and very calm individual, he is by all accounts a schemer. According to the testimony of the head of the S.P.K, Near, Light Yagami is an incredibly intelligent and persuasive man. Letting him out to the public could be dangerous."

The Judge nodded, stroking his beard pensively "Could this Near confirm this?"

The Prosecutor nodded "He has agreed to become a witness; I would call Near to the stand to give testimony."

Light leaned forward in interest, with a small interested smile on his face. He watched the young detective walk his way up to the stand, like a raptor such as an eagle watches its prey. As this hearing only dictated who would be given bail, he really didn't care about the outcome anymore, he was more interested in what the boy would say.

The Judge looked at Near with surprise, but kept quiet, he had probably been informed he was a child. Regardless of his age, Near was a capable individual.

Once Near had seated himself, he looked to the Prosecutor for permission to speak. He found his approval.

Near cleared his throat "The defendant Light Yagami is a very dangerous man. My team and I had long been aware of his ability to scheme and plot. In fact, it would be a gross under exaggeration to call this man anything less than a genius; he is also a superb liar. Even under S.P.K watch, I cannot guarantee we could rein him in."

The Prosecutor nodded "Could you give us examples of his ability to scheme?"

The child prodigy nodded as wekk "Yes, one of the best examples of Light's scheming is none other than him assuming the mantle of L. As he has already admitted, he is indeed Kira, and he assumed to role of L in order to remain incognito. He purposely made little progress, in order to disguise his own crimes. In fact, he was so inefficient, that conspiracy theorists believed he was Kira, this made it harder for the S.P.K to put this forward as a credible theory."

Light smiled slightly, it was an effective disguise, and certainly helped him remain safe from suspicion.

The Judge nodded, "Thank you, I will take this into consideration. What else is threatening about Light Yagami?"

The prosecutor gestured for Near to continue.

"Light Yagami is extremely intelligent, and it is hard to put into words just how smart he is. Simply put, he is easily at the same level of the first L, and surpasses myself in several regards. Light uses his intellect to great effect; he is capable of making several plans and seeing ahead of all his opponents."

The true Second L looked to Light "It is assumed that Light made use of the Death Note's ability to take away the memory of someone if they give up ownership, to eventually defeat L. This theory is backed up by several members of the original Japanese Task Force, who believe that Light acted differently for about a month. This put him in an excellent position to defeat L, as well as erase any suspicion regarding his motives."

The Judge nodded before turning to Light "The full workings of this "Death Note" will have to be discussed at a later hearing. Defendant Light Yagami, is what Near says true?"

Light smirked slightly "I refuse to say anything without a lawyer."

The Judge frowned "Very well, I will take this theory into consideration as well, what of the other defendant? Who will testify against him?"

Agent Gevanni raised his hand "I will testify, if the court is alright with it?"

The Prosecutor looked to the Judge, who gestured for Gevanni to come to the stand, while Near began walking back to where he had been sitting originally.

The Prosecutor looked up "Would you introduce yourself to the court?"

"Yeah, my name is Stephen Gevanni, and I…" began Gevanni only to be interrupted.

"Loud."

The Prosecutor turned to Mikami "What?"

"His real name is Stephen Loud, Gevanni is an alias."

The Prosecutor blinked in confusion "How do you know that, and come to think of it how did you know the name of the Bailiff, he didn't introduce himself?"

"I know the names of everyone in this room Thomas Fitzpatrick, including your own." said Teru, with an expressionless look on his face.

The Prosecutor began to look unnerved "There is no way you could know that."

Light looked at Mikami with interest, it seemed that he was trying to unnerve the man, but he didn't know why.

" _Just what are you doing Teru?"_

Teru pointed to the Jury "Let's start with the Jury: Jeremy Harris, Rudy Martinez, Melinda Stokes, Dianne Zimmerman, Sabrina Williamson, Annette French, Josh Mason, Alvin Haynes, Velma Long, Misty Hayes, Annie Smith, Brenda Hodges, Kristine Ruiz, Roberta Bridges, Rachel Tran, Pat Griffith, Roland Howard, Genevieve Clayton, Shaun Ross, Edward Lee. Those are just a few of the names of the Jury, do you believe me now?"

After seeing the Jury looking in shock at Teru, Prosecutor Fitzpatrick turned to the Judge. "You honour, this man is clearly insane, and this alone should prove he is not eligible for bail."

"Nate River."

Near seized up, he had been messing around with some small figurines, but the mentioning of his name had brought him back to reality.

The Judge looked towards Teru "What, who is that?"

"That is the name of the child who gave testimony. The one you called Near."

The Judge looked to Near, who was looking at Mikami with confusion. The Judge once again rubbed his head wearily before speaking. He was clearly overstressed by the trial, and it was just the initial hearing.

"So, you know the names of every person in this room?" asked the Judge, with a slightly curious look on his face.

Mikami scanned the room, before turning back to the Judge "Now I do. However, I feel that I would much rather hear the reasons for myself being suitable or unsuitable for bail."

The Judge nodded "That is acceptable, Mr Gevanni or Loud, if you could continue."

"Ok, well as I was saying, I am probably one of the best people to testify against Mikami. Simply put, I was in charge of tailing him while we were trying to figure out where he was hiding the Death Note."

Prosecutor Fitzpatrick nodded "So, what did you find out about him in that time?"

Agent Gevanni pursed his lips slightly, before speaking "Teru is an absolute schedule fanatic, he does things in the exact same way every day. I have never seen someone act as robotically as he does, in fact, I don't think there is another person on this planet that is quite like him."

The Prosecutor nodded "So what is your point?"

"Well, I would say he would probably be the better option to allow on bail. While Mikami is quite self-sufficient, he is in unknown territory at the moment, so it is probably going to far easier to keep him under control." explained Agent Gevanni.

"Is there anything we need to be wary of?" asked the Prosecutor.

"He can be… violent." warned Gevanni, with a grimace on his face.

Mikami snarled quietly in irritation, he regretted doing that now, he hadn't thought about it at the time.

"Violent?" asked the Prosecutor, gesturing for the agent to continue.

"Well, when we brought him back to our headquarters in Tokyo, we found out very quickly that he isn't a pushover. While I tailed him, I noticed Mikami goes to the gym every day for an hour, and he focuses on nothing but muscle training. So he is more than capable of holding his own in a fight."

"How did you find out?" pushed the Prosecutor.

"Well, he fought with an F.B.I agent who was serving with the S.P.K for a while; we like to make use of CIA and F.B.I agents to bloat our numbers. Anyways the agent made the mistake of getting angered by Teru, and so the two fought each other."

"Who was the agent who fought him?" asked the Prosecutor with interest.

"His name was Bill Tager, he was a hulk of a man to be honest, about six foot one and weighed around eighty kilos. Much bigger than Mikami over there anyways, unfortunately Tager was always kind of a loose cannon, he had a short temper."

"How did the fight start?"

"From what his partner told me, Mikami insulted his father or something, and Tager lost it. Wasn't long before the two were going at each other, Mikami wasn't fit to be attacking him though; he was just out of hospital. And he had been attacked by Tager earlier. Regardless, one of the agents ran off to get help, and that was when all hell broke loose." said Gevanni with a frown.

"What do you mean?"

"We aren't entirely sure what exactly happened, one of our cameras was destroyed, but somehow Teru got a hold of one of the pair of handcuffs we had meant to put on him and Light. When the agent returned with backup, it was too late; Mikami had strangled Tager with the handcuffs."

Mikami's hand clenched, he knew this wasn't particularly good for him; it was not very likely that the Judge would allow a killer out on bail.

The Prosecutor dismissed the witness "That is quite enough, thank you Agent Gevanni."

Mikami stood up, he would have to be bold in order to defend himself "I only did it in self-defence; the man was going to kill me. What was I supposed to have done? Let him kill me?"

The Prosecutor turned around "I will accept your statement of self-defence, it someone could collaborate it. Is there anyone who can do so?"

Mikami desperately scanned the room, his plans would be ruined if someone didn't confirm his side of the story, and perhaps later it would be revealed that he did do it in self-defence. But he needed bail now, not later!

A hand rose, "I will back up the defendant's statement."

Mikami focused in on the woman who had done so. He couldn't believe it, Agent Hall? Why would she defend him?

The Prosecutor nodded "Very well, please come to the stand and testify."

Agent Hall nodded, before walking her way to the witnesses' stand. After seating herself she spoke.

"Let me get this straight, I have no love for Teru Mikami or Light Yagami, both of them are mass murdering psychopaths in my honest opinion. However, I worry more about Light than I do Mikami; simply put Mikami is the lesser of two evils. It is better that he get bail, than say Light."

The Prosecutor nodded "The terms of the bail are simple, that particular individual will be allowed to roam outside in England for a week, with S.P.K overwatch of course."

Mikami grimaced, this was a small setback, but he had despite his hopes expected this. He would have much preferred to get to Japan to reclaim the Death Note pages he had removed, but that was a pipe dream at best.

Fortunately for him, it was one of the first times he had ever devised a back-up plan by himself, now he could only pray that it would work. It would require oversight, blunders, and a large amount of luck. But he had God on his side, God required him to succeed, and if it required it Teru would die trying.

Agent Hall continued "Like most of the S.P.K agents present in this room, I am an auxiliary member. In other words, we are drafted from the F.B.I or CIA, in my case the F.B.I. We are basically grunts; we carry out the heavy lifting tasks that the S.P.K requires. Near drafted a lot of us in when he captured those two, he was afraid that the Japanese police would free the two or turn against the S.P.K"

Light, who had been listening intently, sat up slightly. He really didn't care who got bail, his plan wasn't to acquire bail anyways. It was useless to do so; he couldn't go back to Japan to retrieve the pages Mikami had, so in effect he was sitting this one out. He didn't know if Teru wanted bail, or wanted to defend himself.

Agent Hall paused to take a breath before speaking again "Tager was in the F.B.I with me, in fact he and I were partners at one point, we never really liked each other. But whether I liked him or not doesn't matter, I care for all my partners as if they were my brothers or sisters. I hate Mikami for killing him, but I don't doubt for a damn second that Tager didn't start the fight. He was always quick to raise his fists and jump to blows, this time though, he got into a fight he didn't win."

The Judge nodded, mentally noting this down, before turning to the defendants "Thank you, I have made my decision, but I would like to hear your own opinions. This question is directed to both of you do you want bail?"

Light lazily shook his head, confusing Near and several other agents "No, it would be artificial freedom, like a fish swimming around in a bowl. I would much rather stay here, besides I am sure that I will find something to entertain myself."

The Judge nodded "What about you Mikami? Do you want bail?"

Teru nodded slowly "I grow weary of these confined spaces, I haven't been able to walk in ages, and if I had bail I could relax and calm myself."

The Judge nodded "Very well, Defendant Teru Mikami will be allowed bail for the period of a week; this gives him free reign to go places. Some scenarios will not be allowed, the Defendant will not be allowed to leave Hampshire. So he is confined to Winchester, as well as its outlying villages and towns."

The Judge looked to Near "He will be under the watch of a handler, whom I presume has already been selected?"

Near nodded "I have already selected someone to watch over him."

"Who would that be?" asked the Judge "I would like to make note of it."

"A CIA member serving with the S.P.K at the moment, Agent Barnes will be his handler." answered Near, before looking to the agent in question. Barnes nodded, affirming that he would do as ordered.

Mikami was inwardly relieved; his first stroke of luck had manifested itself in the form of Barnes. A Kira sympathiser was the best person to be his handler, while he would not delude himself into believing he would be watched by only one person, he was allowed a significantly higher amount of freedom with the handler selected.

The Judge turned to Mikami "Is this acceptable?"

Mikami hesitated, before nodding; it would be suspicious for him to nod immediately "These conditions are satisfactory."

The Judge breathed a sigh of relief "Very well, then the court is adjourned. I would remember and enjoy the silence of this hearing, because I am certain we won't be alone next time. I guarantee that the protestors and the police will be very noisy."

There was a quiet chuckle amongst the members of the jury, before the court did as it was asked. The members of the Jury were the first to excuse themselves from the courtroom, arising in mass, before exiting.

The next to leave were the nonessential members of the S.P.K, who also left the room. The Judge and Bailiff also made to leave with the Prosecutor.

Light stood up and stretched, it was obvious just how laid back he was. Once finished he flashed a small smile at Near, before brazenly walking his way towards the child prodigy. He sat himself beside the boy, before leaning towards him.

"Say Near, how about we have that chess rematch?" asked Light, his eyes twinkling with mirth and amusement.

Near kept a straight face but waved the question off "You needn't worry Light, you and I were always going to have that rematch, regardless of whether you got your bail or not."

Light grinned like a Cheshire cat "I suppose you were always the competitive type?"

Near nodded "You don't become L's successor by being satisfied with second place, if you can't win you are a loser."

At the mention of L, Light became quiet, before asking a question "Did you ever meet L?"

By this point Lidner and Gevanni had handcuffed Light, waiting for Near to give them orders as to what their next move should be.

Near looked to Lidner and Gevanni "Go get Mikami, bring him to Barnes, I want to talk alone to Light for a while."

Lidner spoke up "But Nea-"

"Don't worry, Light isn't the violent type, besides he is handcuffed. What will he do? He has no interest in killing me at the moment; he wants to win this trial that much is obvious. If he wants to win, he needs the heart of the people, how can he have that if he kills a child?" dismissed Near with a wave of his hand.

"Observant as ever Near." Light complimented, with a small wry smile.

The agents nodded, before going to escort Mikami out of the room, who was dully looking at the ceiling.

Near turned to Light and got up "Come with me, we can talk in my room."

The First Kira nodded before following the child to his room. Once they reached it, he was beckoned it and took a seat. The first thing he noticed was that the room reflected his owner in every way; it was full of toys and television screens. Childish yet observant, just like Near was.

Light eased into his seat "So, are you looking for a chess board?"

Near nodded "Yes, I know I have one somewhere." The child continued rummaging through a box, which seemed to be full of board games "No."

Despite not being clear on what exactly he was saying, Light knew he was answering the question he had asked a few minutes ago "So, you didn't know him? I suspected as much, L was a very secretive person, even when you met him it was like he wasn't really there sometimes."

Near nodded before pulling out a chess board, as he began to set it up he asked another question "What was L like?"

Light laughed "Unique, he really was one of a kind, I haven't met anyone like him since. Although, you could say he was similar to you in many regards, he had a very monotonous voice. He rarely showed emotions, and was quite socially awkward. He never tried to hide that he was childish; he was very like you in a way. He hated losing, and had a massive sweet tooth."

"I see, Mello had a sweet tooth as well I suppose, he always liked chocolate bars." commented Near, having finished laying out the board.

"Mello was like him as well in a couple of ways, namely his strategies. L liked to put his opponents under pressure, so that they would slip up. Mello was the same; he liked to put his opponents under pressure as well."

"What about my strategies? Did he ever do things the way I did?"

"Hard to say, I never saw how you made your deductions, but I would say you share some similarities."

Near nodded, before moving his white pawn forward. After making his move, he curled his hair slightly.

"Were you really friends with him?" asked Near, curiosity dripping from his voice.

Light smiled melancholically "Ryuzaki was friends with Light Yagami yes."

Near raised his eyebrow "What do you mean by that?"

"L went by the alias Ryuzaki whilst he worked with the Japanese Task Force, that is what he told us to call him." explained Light.

Near nodded "So you were friends with him then?"

"No, like I said Light Yagami was friends with Ryuzaki. I am not Light Yagami remember? I am Kira, God of the New World, and I was enemies with L."

Near widened his eyes slightly before realising what Light meant "So you were friends, but you knew it couldn't remain that way."

"Yes, L called me his first friend. He could be a really deceptive bastard though, so I never was sure whether or not he was telling the truth. When I lost my memories, I became great friends with him, or at least I think I did." said Light, before slowly moving his own pawn forward.

"Do you regret killing him?" asked Nate, cocking his head slightly.

"I regret killing Ryuzaki, not L, you understand?"

"Yes, I think I do."

Light started chuckling sadly "You know, when I look at you, I see him. Originally it was just the bad parts, his intelligence, his ability to screw over my plans. But over these last few days, I can see some of the good things about him in you too. This makes it a shame that we are on different sides."

"Yes opposing fronts you might say?" Near agreed.

"Yeah, natural enemies I suppose. Kira and L always must fight each other; you and I are probably destined to do this forever you know?"

"Forever?"

Light nodded affirmatively "Forever."

Light moved forward his queen "Checkmate Near."

Near nodded vaguely "Another match?"

Light smiled "Of course, what else would I do?"

"Light, for what it is worth, you could have made a great L." said Near, smiling slightly. He cleared the board, setting all the pieces out again.

"What do you mean Nate? Why are you going so out of character like that?" said Light in confusion.

"What I mean is, if you hadn't got that Death Note, you could have easily become a great detective. You could have been on L's calibre, if not even better."

Near moved forward his white pawn again, the game had commenced once more.

"Maybe so, but for better or worse, that notebook changed my life irreversibly."

Light moved forward a knight, whilst the two conversed, the game continued in earnest.

"Do you regret it?" asked Near, not really minding whether or not he did, he was more so interested in just hearing his answer.

Light paused, taking a moment to consider his answer before replying "No, I regret some of the things I did with the notebook, but I will never regret what I have brought about."

Near spoke slowly "I think you have been deceived by the Light."

Light looked at Near in shock, before regaining his bearings "What do you mean by that?"

"You know what I mean." said Near, with a small frown.

Light frowned as well "Yeah, I suppose I do know what you mean; I don't think you are right though."

"Light?"

"Yes?"

Near moved forward his knight "Checkmate."

Light's mouth twitched slightly, before turning into a grin "Another match Near?"

The child nodded "Another match."

The boy set out the board again before speaking "Forever?"

Light looked at him for a moment before answering "Forever."


	10. The First Sin Against The First Kira

Teru found himself being escorted by Near's two favoured S.P.K agents, or so he believed they were. Halle Bullook and Stephen Loud generally referred to by their aliases; Halle Lidner and Stephen Gevanni. From what he could discern, as he had been paying attention to other things whilst Near gave them their orders, he was to be brought to his handler: Agent Cody Barnes.

It was an extreme stroke of luck, for Mikami to have been given such a handler, and it would be by no means an exaggeration to say that he would play a vital role in Teru's plan. He was still slightly paranoid in regards to the man's loyalties, but he was backed into a corner in regards to how he could move. He would have to go out on a limb, and hope that the man was truly a Kira sympathiser.

Mikami frowned; his situation truly was a difficult one, as he was playing the loyalties of two of the smartest people he had ever met. Each one had the potential to completely destroy any chance of him succeeding; he would have to rely on luck and planning to avoid losing already.

He had several advantages; he could deceive Light easily for now as the man thought he was a loyal dog. This allowed him to operate without Light's scrutiny. Light was a distrustful person by nature, finding it difficult to trust someone, preferring instead to completely manipulate them. Teru knew that he was a textbook example of Light's preferred follower. That was at the very least what he picked up from Light in his interactions with him.

In regards to Near's trust, he didn't have an innate advantage. Actually, the fanaticism Teru was so known for could actually limit the amount of faith Near had in him. So, Teru had to play it safe around Near. He had acted up in court today, but that could easily be passed off as trying to renew the image Light had of him, so that he could use it against him.

Currently, at least as far as Nate was aware of, their alliance completely relied upon a mutual need for the other. Near needed him to keep an eye on Light, as well as end up testifying against him eventually. And Near thought Mikami needed him to make the prosecutor a new life, when in reality the Fourth Kira harboured no such ambitions.

Lidner and Gevanni were quiet, and apart from occasional sporadic bursts of small conversation about inane things, they remained silent throughout the journey. Mikami was certainly astounded by Barnes' ability to shift to the other end of the orphanage in five minutes. It would seem that the two S.P.K agents were to bring him to Barnes' room.

He observed the environment around himself; it was a large stretch of continuous hallway, with several doors leading to other sections of the orphanage.

Teru was certain that the orphanage was around the size of a university campus. It was at least similar in size to Kyodo University, where he had studied Law, and that wasn't adding in the large expanses of land the orphanage encompassed.

It was impressive to say the least, but it was odd that there were so few orphans. Assuming the orphans followed the alphabetical order of naming, also assuming that those who left were replaced, there was at a maximum twenty six occupants of this place. It was food for thought, although he wondered where the children were.

He felt the two agents come to a stop, signalling that they had arrived at their end destination.

Mikami, who had been staring at a picture on a wall, snapped his head around to face what seemed to be a series of doors. He recognised the layout, it was the universal depiction of a dormitory, with several rooms all neighbouring each other.

Lidner glanced to Gevanni who nodded curtly; he approached one of the doors before knocking on it several times.

Vague mumbling could be heard, before the door opened revealing Barnes. He appeared to have changed into something far more casual, which was odd. Mikami would have thought that they would keep their suits on to keep up the aura of professionalism.

Lidner spoke up "We are transferring him over to you Agent Barnes, good luck."

Barnes nodded before smiling slightly "Hey, don't worry about it; he can't be all that bad can he?"

Lidner nodded absentmindedly, before turning to Gevanni. After handing Mikami over, as well as giving Barnes the key to Mikami's handcuffs, they took their leave retreating down the hall until they were out of sight.

"Well, hey Mikami. So you got bail eh? I bet you're glad about that aren't you?" said Barnes chuckling in good humour, before unlocking the prosecutor's handcuffs, allowing him to move his wrists.

Mikami sighed slightly; Barnes still seemed to be as carefree and relaxed as he had ever been. He also still possessed a knack for stating the obvious.

Mikami nodded "Yes, I am quite grateful for you being my handler. Thank you."

Barnes waved him off "Aw shucks, it was nothing. I volunteered anyways, it is boring round here, I figured going out and doing stuff my spice things up a little."

Mikami agreed quietly "Yes, a change of pace could be beneficial."

"So pal, where do you wanna go? I am sure ol' Winchester has plenty of sights to see. We could go to the Royal Green Jackets museum, it might be interesting eh?" asked Barnes.

Mikami shook his head slowly "My apologies, but I am not interested in the museum. If it is acceptable, I would much prefer for us to go get coffee."

"Coffee? Sure, I mean it isn't very adventurous, but hey it's your bail time." said Barnes scratching his head slightly.

"Do you have a car? Or will we be taking the bus?" asked Mikami.

Barnes grabbed a coat from inside his room "Yeah, there is a bus stop about a mile up the road. We can take a bus in an hour or so, or at least that is what the bus schedule says anyways."

Mikami straightened his tie "So, what will we be doing until then?"

Barnes reached inside his coat pocket, before pulling out a pack of cards "You wanna play a game? Fair warning though, I am an old hand at this."

Mikami saw no better way to pass the time, so he agreed "Very well, are we to play in your room?"

Barnes closed the door behind him "No, there is a couple of tables outside, we can play there."

Mikami was initially curious as to why the agent didn't want to play inside his room, but upon noticing the pack of cigarettes in Barnes' hands, he realised why the agent wanted to play outside.

Once they reached the table, Barnes took a seat and began dealing out into a pile. Whilst he was doing this he looked up at Mikami, who was also taking a seat "So, do you know how to play Go Fish?"

Teru raised his eyebrow "Go Fish? Forgive me for assuming, but I would have thought you would be interested in far more advanced games."

Barnes lazily smiled "Hey, you gotta respect Go Fish; this got me through my childhood you know? Me and my friends always used to meet up after school, or during break and lunch, and have a game or two. It was always good fun."

Mikami was amazed by how laid back this man truly was. Considering that he was a CIA agent, Teru would have expected him to be a no-nonsense individual like himself. In fact, he was the one of the most relaxed people Teru had ever encountered, which was an accolade in itself.

Barnes brought out a lighter and placed an unlit cigarette in his mouth "So, what did you play when growing up?"

Barnes brought the lighter to his mouth, before lazily lighting the cigarette. He began puffing away slowly, taking pleasure in his activity. After taking a few more drags, he looked at Mikami before frowning slightly.

"Aw shit, sorry I was being very rude there wasn't I?" said Barnes shaking his head slightly.

Mikami wasn't particularly offended by the question, but as it turned out Barnes wasn't apologising for that.

Barnes picked out a cigarette from his pack before offering it to Mikami "Want one? I promise they are good, none of that cheap crap you see sometimes."

Mikami shook his head "No thank you, I would rather not shorten my life any more than I have already done."

Barnes laughed "Hey, don't worry about it. I can appreciate a man looking after his health, at the rate I go through these things, I will have cancer in twenty or so years. Hey, if you don't mind me asking again, what did you play with your friends whilst growing up?"

"I didn't really have that many friends when I was growing up; I concerned myself with my studies, and also kept an eye out for bullies." Teru answered, with indifference.

Barnes laughed, before seeing Mikami expression "Shit, you serious? Christ that must have been tough. So you never played games when you were growing up?"

Mikami shook his head "I didn't say that, I did play games during the summer."

Cody raised his eyebrow in the universal gesture of "go on, tell me more".

Teru sighed; he didn't know why he was telling this man this. He had never really shared his past with anyone; even Light's knowledge of his childhood was very poor. Teru honestly liked to forget his childhood, it reminded him too much of his failings whilst he was a child. However, he reasoned that a show of faith was necessary. If he trusted him enough to share stories of his childhood, Barnes would probably be more inclined to listen to him.

Mikami eventually spoke "My mother was from a village originally, and so was my father, or so my mother said. They both were from a small village called Tengoku-mura, which was in Tokyo prefecture, and spent their childhoods there."

Barnes nodded "So, were you from the village?"

Mikami shook his head "No, I was born in Tokyo, as my mother and father moved there. They wanted to go somewhere new, and the village was boring them, so they packed their bags and bought a small house in Tokyo."

Mikami remembered the village well however, it was a very interesting place. He made a few of his only friends there, he was impressed still at the goodness of the people he met in the village.

"When my father left, my mother was horribly depressed for quite a few years, in fact she never really got over him leaving. When he left, my family tried to fix my mother and put her back together. My grandmother especially tried hard, she showed favouritism to my mother quite often, and loved her the most out of all of her children. She wanted my mother to come back to the village, but my mother didn't want to leave Tokyo for a reason I never really discovered."

Barnes' first cigarette had run cold, and he lit another one, whilst still listening intently to Mikami's story.

Mikami continued "They eventually agreed to make a compromise, every summer my mother would come back to the village and stay there until summer finished and I went back to school. Unfortunately, as it turned out, I resembled my father too much. So, the hatred that my family had for my father leaving my mother was directed towards me instead. They believed I was the reason for my mother's depression, and truthfully they weren't wrong."

Barnes frowned "Hey man, don't beat yourself up about being born, it ain't your fault that your dad was a scumbag that left you and your mother."

"My apologies, you misunderstand. It was my fault that my mother was depressed, but that doesn't mean that I was sorry for it. At the time I didn't see it, but in hindsight my mother was a weak willed woman who was too foolish to consider her options. She loved me however, so I was grateful for that, and I loved her. As I was saying, I spent my summers in the small village, and made friends with a group of boys and girls who were the children of the village. They were all around my age, apart from two who were older than me. My cousin's best friend introduced me to them; she was the only person related to my family or who knew them in some way that didn't look at me with disdain, apart from my own mother of course. That gang of friends became a family of sorts, we all mutually trusted in each other, and we all cared for one another. I felt happy for the first time in quite some time when I met them during those summer days."

Barnes smiled "Do you still see them, or keep in contact?"

Mikami shook his head "I last saw them when I was fifteen, my mother died when I was eleven, but I kept returning to that village for four years afterwards. However, my grandmother grew tired of my visits to the village, so she told me I was to no longer come back to Tengoku-mura. As she was the village elder, there was very little I could do, other than accept it and move on."

Barnes nodded "What was the name of the girl who introduced you to your friends?"

Mikami looked to the forgotten game of cards "Perhaps we should play a game instead?"

Cody realised he didn't want to speak about the subject any longer, so he nodded "Sure, got any fives."

"Her name is Hikari Kimura, and go fish." said Mikami slowly, considering something.

Barnes nodded, before reaching into the pile a grabbing a card.

"I must ask Agent Barnes, why are you so different now? I knew you were laid back when I met you first, but not as much as you are now." asked Teru with curiosity evident.

Barnes took a drag of his cigarette before smiling "I have to be a bit more serious on the job, last thing I wanna do is get myself fired over me being a bit too relaxed. I worked hard for my pension, last thing I want to do is lose it."

Mikami eyes darted, searching the area for any discernible faces. He had noticed that the Shinigami Eyes would detect a face even if you didn't recognise it as one. So camouflaging could be partially negated by his eyes.

After looking around the area for a moment, and confirming that there were no agents watching him, he turned to Barnes "Are you wearing a recording device?" He pointed to Barnes chest to emphasize the the question.

Barnes looked at him in surprise "No buddy, what's up with the mood swing?"

Mikami gritted his teeth "Prove it! Lift up your shirt!"

Barnes smiled before standing up and doing as asked "See, no recording device whatsoever. You are on bail pal, what's the point of the S.P.K recording what you say?"

Mikami calmed himself "My apologies, I want to make sure what I speak to you about isn't heard."

Barnes smile slowly morphed into a serious frown, he put out his cigarette by rubbing it against the table. He looked at Mikami "What is it?"

"I need your help." replied Teru, with a look showing how serious he was.

Barnes nodded slowly, he himself beginning to look around, after searching and feeling satisfied he turned to Mikami "What do you need?"

The Fourth Kira frowned "Light Yagami has lost his way; he no longer seeks the creation of a New World free of criminals. He now seeks a New World where he can reign as God."

Barnes blinked in surprise "What does that mean for you and me?"

Mikami sighed "It means that Light's further rule as Kira will be corrupt, and that true justice will not be achieved. He will bring around a dark age for humanity where his word is law, and where he is exempt from any form of judgement."

Barnes' frown deepened "So, are you saying you need my help to make sure you two get found guilty?"

Mikami shook his head "No, this trial is the problem. The trial will have two outcomes; either Light keeps the Death Note and rules as a false God, or Light and I are found guilty and the Death Note is destroyed."

Barnes began scratching his head "I take it neither of these option is acceptable, right?"

The former prosecutor spoke "Yes, the trial will lead to the work of Kira being destroyed irreparably, whatever the outcome. The crime rates will either shoot up to pre-Kira levels, or the citizens of the world will be killed without cause on the whims of a megalomaniac." Teru leaned in looking at Barnes straight in his eyes "You and I can stop this."

Barnes looked at him in confusion "How?"

Mikami smiled "God has revealed to me a third option. For this to work, I need your support, in fact you will be critical to the success of this plan."

Barnes took out another cigarette and lit it, taking several drags to calm his nerves "But what if it doesn't work? If the S.P.K figure out that I am working against them, my pension is lost and everything, what about my family? And what if Light finds out we tried to work against him, he'll kill us when he gets the Death Note back."

Teru frowned in displeasure "Then we will have to deal with those developments being a significant threat, either one of those scenarios is certainly possible."

Barnes took the cigarette out of his mouth, before looking at Mikami with disbelief "You'd risk your life over this? I mean come on pal, we screw up and we're as good as dead."

Mikami looked at him "I am sure Near has told you about the power of the Shinigami Eyes?"

Cody thought the change of subject was odd, but he answered anyways "Yeah, you can see people's names without them introducing themselves."

"Did he ever tell you the price you have to pay for this?" asked Mikami tapping the table with his finger.

"No, he didn't, I don't think he knows to be honest. During the briefings, we often speculated why one Kira was able to kill with a face, while the other needed a name and a face." said Barnes taking a long drag of his cigarette. He looked to Mikami "How much does it cost?"

"Half of your lifespan." said Mikami without any hint of regret.

Barnes coughed in surprise before whispering harshly "Half of your lifespan? Jesus Christ!"

Mikami looked at Barnes stoically "Yes, it is a steep price to pay, but I made the deal without any hesitation. Do you know why?"

"Why?"

"I made the deal because I reasoned that half of my lifespan was an acceptable price to pay for true justice being brought into this world. I was always willing to sacrifice myself for the greater good, being offered such a pivotal role by God is a tremendous honour."

Barnes sighed "So what you are saying is, that we should accept the risk as worth the possibility of a New World free of crime?"

Mikami nodded vigorously "That is exactly what I am saying; you and I can change the world into God's image. We have been placed in a position to do his work."

Barnes looked at him with still some evident trepidation "Who is this God you are goin' on about?"

The Fourth Kira grinned slightly "Don't you think that it is odd that the Death Note fell to Earth? Do you really believe it didn't happen for a reason? Clearly some entity made sure that a Death God dropped the notebook, and what about Light Yagami picking it up? Why of all the vile and disgusting people in the world, did a man whose morals were, at that point at least, completely pure pick it up?"

"Coincidence?" Barned weakly offered.

"I don't believe in coincidence, for something significant like this to happen, there is bound to be a reason for it. Clearly some divine entity willed for the Death Note to fall into Light's hands." explained Mikami calmly as if talking about the weather.

"Well, suppose what you are saying is true, wouldn't it be wrong to anger that God by taking the Death Note out of his hands?" asked the agent.

"No, not if the first servant has lost his way, why do you think the Death Note found its way to me? Why do you think that you and I are now in a situation where we are capable of usurping the false God's throne, and bringing about a world free of evil?" asked Mikami, his fanaticism beginning to become apparent.

Barnes still looked uneasy and began looking away slightly "I still don't know, this is very risky, and you and I aren't exactly capable of much."

Mikami looked down, his hair covering his eyes, before he began muttering "He will kill them you know?"

Barnes looked at him with surprise "What?"

"Light sees this trial as an affront to his supposed divinity; he sees it as heresy against himself. The trial is already shaping in Light's favour, the prosecutor was easily shot down by both of us, and the position of Pro-Kira is far more powerful than Anti-Kira. I would estimate the chances of him winning the trial are around sixty-five to seventy percent in his favour. When he is given the Death Note again, he will see to it that those who went against him will be punished. He will kill you, and the chances are he will kill your family as well, as a message to those who would stand against him." said Mikami looking into Barnes' eye with sincerity, as he believed truly these would be Light's next actions.

Barnes took one last drag of his cigarette before stubbing it out and looking at Mikami. Teru knew by the look in the man's eye that he was going to help him.

Cody nodded slowly "Alright Mikami, I'll bite, what do you need me to do? What is the third option in all of this?"

"There are two things I need you to do, first you must go and tell a teenager who goes by the name of Claude Delacroix to meet me tonight. The boy is an orphan here. He will play a role in this as well, if I can get his support in this, things will be infinitely easier for us."

Barnes nodded "Claude Delacroix eh? Right, I'll look into it then."

Mikami nodded his thanks before continuing "Tell me, do you have any idea where the Death Notes are being stored? To my knowledge, Near is in the possession of two of them. The one I once had, along with another Light at some point used."

Barnes puffed his cigarette and exhaled before nodding "Yeah, Near has got that place locked up tighter than Fort Knox though. There won't be a hope in hell of me or you getting in there, the S.P.K may have manpower shortages, but I think there is a detachment of four agents that is always posted there. Even then, none of them have the key, only Near, Lidner and Gevanni currently have it."

Mikami nodded "That is acceptable, we will have to get the key off them at some point. And I have come up with a plan that will facilitate this. If everything goes well, and everyone plays their part, this plan will be executed flawlessly."

Barnes nodded "Alright, so do we need anything?"

Mikami gestured to Cody's pocket "Agent Barnes, do you have any paper or something that you could write on? I have a list of things I think we will need."

* * *

"So Near?" asked Light after moving his queen, he was growing tired of chess, there was only so much fun to be had in playing the same game for three hours. He would have grown bored already, were it not for the fact that Near was surprisingly good company.

Near looked up "Checkmate it seems Light, excellent move." The boy began tallying the game's result down before informing Light "As it stands, we are equal, three wins to myself and three losses. We have both won three times, and have drawn once."

Light smirked "You aren't bad Near, but I can't say I am surprised, you struck me as the kind of person who enjoys chess."

The boy nodded "Very much so, I used to play against Mello when he was willing. But I beat him most of the time, so he would often flip the chessboard in anger and throw the pieces at me."

Light laughed slightly "I guess Mello was an aggressive person?"

Near looked up as if struck by a ideabefore looking to Light "Do you want to see his room? As far as I remember, Roger had it left the way it was, it is the same with Matt's room as well."

"Matt?" asked Light in confusion.

"The other person who helped Mello kidnap Takada." answered Near, gesturing for Light to follow him.

"Oh, you mean the one who thought the police wouldn't shoot him, and then they did so anyways?" asked Light, with slight insensitivity.

Near frowned and looked at Light with some disappointment "Yes, that one."

Light quietly apologised, more out of habit than anything else, before continuing to follow the child detective.

Near looked back at him before asking a question "Light do you know what age I am?"

Light laughed "Thirteen or fourteen I guess?"

Near smiled boldly "No, I am seventeen actually."

Light stopped momentarily in surprise before laughing it off "Good joke Near, but seriously what age are you?"

Near frowned in annoyance "I know it seems unbelievable, but I am seventeen years old. I was born on August twenty-fourth, 1994."

Light processed the information before looking at the boy "Well, I guess that repairs some of the damage my pride had endured from being beaten by a child."

Near smiled at Light's joke "I am surprised you can make a joke about your defeat when it only happened two weeks ago. I would have thought you would be too proud to admit your own failings."

Light's smile morphed into a thin one "I am not so proud so as to overlook my own failings; besides, my defeat in the warehouse wasn't my fault. You and I both know that it was Mikami's blunder that led to my defeat, not my own."

Near nodded before opening the door to Mello's room. It was an interesting room, with a small sofa the Light would imagine Mello would slouch upon. It also notable that the room had two seats, not just one. Near apparently noticed Light staring at the second chair.

"Matt and Mello both enjoyed the other's companionship. They used to go around a lot together, generally after dinner they would go to Mello's room to relax." answered Near pointing at the chairs.

Light nodded looking around the room again, before noticing the Third L reaching underneath the bed and pulling out a pair of chocolate bars.

Light's eyebrows rose "Did you hide a secret stash of chocolate here Near? Why not hide these in your own room?"

Near shook his head "They aren't mine, they are Mello's actually. As I said, he was always fond of chocolate."

Light chuckled "So he hid enough chocolate underneath his bed to last this long?"

"No, Roger restocks it every week, for when Mello decides to come back home." said Nate slowly looking at Light, before handing the bar to Light who accepted it.

Light coughed "What?"

"Official Wammy's House rules say that once an orphan reaches adulthood, they must leave and forage into the adult world. Roger had a soft spot for Matt and Mello however; he knew those two were always up to no good. He called them "ruffians" but looked after them as if they were his grandchildren. He told them if they ever wanted to stay for a while, they were free to sleep in their own rooms. He still gets Matt's favourite brand of cigarettes as well." explained Near, who was looking at his feet slightly.

Light's eyebrows furrowed slightly "Doesn't he know they are dead?"

Near frowned angrily at him "I haven't got around to telling him that yet, as far as he knows they are still in Japan, eventually I need to work up the nerve to tell him that **Kira** killed them."

Kira bit into his chocolate bar before looking at him unsympathetically "I won't give an apology if that is what you are asking for Near, you and I both know that Mello wasn't a particularly good person. Working with the mafia and allowing them to kill innocent people for their own benefit seems particularly villainous to me."

Near nodded "I don't expect an apology Light, I just wanted you to know that Mello was a person."

Light looked at him in confusion "A person?"

The true Second L nodded "Yes, I think you forget that about the people you kill. To you they are just names and faces, but you forget these are people with goals and dreams. Every time you kill someone, whether you intend to or not, you tear families apart."

Kira frowned "You aren't going to lecture me about justice and what is right and wrong are you? If that is the case, you may as well be talking to a brick wall. Besides L wasn't exactly the most ethical person either, and I am sure that you aren't above doing some questionable things for what you see as the greater good."

Near conceded "That is a fair point Light, I am sorry if I offended you in anyway."

Kira accepted his apology with a curt nod of his head. As he looked back to his chocolate bar, and prepared to take another bite, Light found himself unable to bear the thought of stomaching it.

Light looked back to Near seeing the boy looked genuinely sad "Well, let's go and speak to Roger. I will tell him not you, so you won't have to worry about it."

Near looked at him in confusion "Why would you do that, I thought you weren't sorry about causing Matt and Mello's deaths?"

Light smiled sadly "Kira wasn't sorry for killing them, but Light Yagami does feel some regret."

Light's meaning dawned on Near who had slumped on Mello's bed. The boy stood up and looked at Light with newfound respect "You know, I think you should stop pretending not to care Light."

Light smirked slightly "What if I am pretending to care?"

Near smile grew larger "Somehow I doubt that. How is it that someone like you can go from a remorseless killer to a man who genuinely cares in the space of a minute?"

Light sighed slowly showing his own confusion "I have come a long way Near, I am not the same man I once was. Sometimes, you have to be cruel to be kind."

 _Light reminded himself internally of his overall plan "When I become God of the New World, all the killings and sacrifices will be made worth something. No one will get in the way of my goal! Not Near, not L's legacy and not even my own morality. I've already sold my soul for this notebook; I have no hope of going back now. Only I can create the perfect world!"_

Light's frown returned. Near noticed the personality change and prepared for the genius' words.

"Near, you have to understand one thing. I have stepped into a pool of blood, one so deep and so long that I can neither see the beginning nor the end. If I were to step out of the pool and return, it would be just as difficult as continuing to wade through the pool to the end. Make no mistake Near, Kira will continue to wade through this blood, Kira will win this trial and I will become God of the New World that everyone desires!"

Near spoke "It is my duty as L to stop you, as you already know."

Light smiled "I invite you to do so; Godhood will only taste sweeter after struggle and strife."

Near smirked at Light's challenge "By the end of this trial, I will be able to boast that I beat a God."

Light grinned in excitement "Well then, as I said we should probably go see Roger."

Near nodded and led him off to Roger's office as he was walking he suddenly walked up to Light's side and leaned into his ear "That was a clever Macbeth reference."

Light beamed at Near "I should have guessed you would recognise English literary classics."

* * *

Mikami was back in his room, and as far as he could tell, C was to meet him at any point now. It was nine O'clock, which was the meeting time he arranged, he could now only hope that the boy had got the message.

Suddenly, shuffling from the vents could be heard, along with some grunting and mutterings of frustration. The grating for the vent was removed, and the small French teenager fell to the ground. Although, he landed with the grace of a cat, he tripped and fell when he got up.

Mikami ignored the child's antics "So, I take it no one knows you are gone?"

The teenager nodded excitedly "I lost a game of poker, so everyone thinks I have gone off to sulk. Besides that, I am a bit of a loner even here."

Teru nodded "So, as you know you owe me two favours."

The boy took off the small beret on his head before scratching it "I do yes, are you calling them in?"

The Fourth Kira nodded solemnly "I need you to do two things for me."

The boy bobbed his head in excitement "What do you need sir?"

Teru leaned in to speak to him and whispered his instructions into the orphan's ear. After passing on his orders, he looked at the boy.

"Can you do these things for me?" asked Teru, with the seriousness of his request clear.

"Yeah, I think so sir." said the boy, whilst sounding slightly unsure, he seemed committed to trying.

He mockingly saluted Mikami, before crawling his way back into the vent, replacing the grating.

Mikami smiled, letting himself relax somewhat.

" _All is going according to plan."_

Mikami looked outside his window, looking at the sun setting, before speaking to himself "I will do it for you God! The world will fear Kira! I will bring about your paradise on Earth, I will make the world a place worthy of your presence! The world will be... cleansed!"


	11. The Beginning of a Plan for a New World

Mikami began straightening his tie, whilst looking at the clock on the wall. His plan had been devised, and as far as he was aware, both of his proxies were carrying out his orders to the letter. Yet, despite God being on his side, he couldn't shake the feeling of nervousness and worry. What if it didn't work? What if he failed? What if everything good Kira had brought about was destroyed by the failure of his plan?

The answer was simple. If Teru failed, he would kill himself. He had made provisions for such a situation, if the plan didn't work, he would retreat to his room and commit suicide. It wasn't a matter of honour or pride, it was simple necessity. Mikami couldn't bear the thought of failing God, his death would be atonement.

The prosecutor smoothed the creases of his black blazer, whilst keeping his eyes firmly fixed on the clock. Time was always of the essence, he knew that only too well. A day lasted only twenty four hours, and he needed six hours of sleep each day to continue functioning at optimum efficiency. But, his scheduled life was falling apart, he was doing things that he had never done before.

For example, today's proceedings wouldn't start until three O'clock, he had planned to get up at half seven. However when he woke up, he found himself shocked by the time, he had slept until half nine. He was twenty seven years old, and he hadn't slept in once in the last fifteen years.

Mikami was aware of the inane nonsense that he was fixating over; it was of no consequence that he slept in, the plan hadn't been disturbed in the slightest. And yet, Mikami kept obsessing over frivolous details. He couldn't help himself.

Mikami looked to the clock again, having momentarily detached his eyes to obsess over something else. He quickly checked the time; it was a quarter to eleven now, which meant that there was four hours and fifteen minutes until the trial reconvened.

Mikami's eyes darted to a stain on the chest of drawers beside the bed. He hated stains, they were little spots that ruined otherwise marvellous things. He remembered when he was young, around five or six; his mother had given him a large stuffed bear. He had treasured it dearly; gifts were hard to come by in his experience. But one day, he had made the mistake of bringing it to a playmate's house. The boy had accidentally spilled something on it, resulting in a small but noticeable stain.

Teru had cried about it at the time, not in sadness because of his stuffed animal being dirtied. But rather because the child had ruined something his mother had gave him. Mikami's head was full of questions at the time 'How dare that child?' 'Did the boy realise what he had done?' Mikami had worked hard to keep the bear in pristine state; he had carefully looked after it!

His mother had tried to calm him; she had even gone to dry cleaners and cleaned the bear herself. Despite all of that, Mikami could still see the stain. His mother couldn't see it, but Teru could. It was sullied, and it couldn't be cleaned. So one day, when his mother was out working at the local shop, and the kind elderly lady who offered to look after him was sleeping, he took a match to the bear and burned it.

His mother never found out what really happened to it and all that she knew was that it up and disappeared one day. Though, his small room did smell of smoke for a few days afterward, and in hindsight, it was a miracle he didn't burn down the entire apartment. Nevertheless, he had completely cleaned the stain.

Mikami focused in again, ripping himself from the almost trance-like state he was going, and looked at his right hand. It was red slightly, and looked to be beginning to bruise; Mikami looked to the chest of drawers. There were large dents in it, most likely his fault. He had probably been hitting it whilst he was reminiscing, that was a first. He was aware that when he recollected he often shut himself off from the world and his own actions. But he had never done something unconsciously before.

It didn't matter, what mattered was the time and that was all that mattered. And the time was now eleven O'clock; he had managed to spend fifteen minutes recalling what happened to a toy of his over twenty years ago.

He looked to his door, technically speaking, he could leave right now and go and do something. The conditions of his bail didn't end until the trial recommenced, so for the next few hours he still had his artificial freedom. Of course, it was paranoia more than anything else that was keeping him locked up firmly in his room like a prisoner.

It was irrational to be this afraid, Barnes was almost certainly on his side, and if he had went to speak to Near about Mikami's plans then he would have been locked up already. Barnes was a CIA agent, and although he didn't seem like it, he was fairly experienced. He was more than capable of covering his tracks, and Mikami hadn't spoken a word to anyone but his two proxies. No one else had even gotten the time of day from him. The boy was unlikely to speak either, and if he did it would seem like a childish lie, or at least Teru hoped it would. Besides, there wasn't a high chance of him even speaking with anyone in the first place.

Mikami nodded slowly to himself before muttering to himself softly "Yes, this fear is irrational, I am entitled to walk around the orphanage without being confronted. I don't even require Barnes to babysit me if all I am doing is going for a walk."

With the small amount of false courage he had mustered, Mikami hesitantly reached towards the door handle. If he was in his normal state of mind, he would be reprimanding himself for such cowardice. There was a fine line between caution and spinelessness.

He slowly opened the door, only to be confronted with a familiar face, which caused him to take a step back in surprise.

Light smiled slightly "Shocked to see me Mikami? I understand that we haven't really seen each other in a while, but with the look on your face it's like you have seen a ghost."

Mikami shock quickly morphed into anger and he had to supress his instinct to attack Light, the man was mocking him! How dare he?

Mikami calmed himself; it was pointless to get angry. It didn't matter, he knew that he would come out on top of this little fight with Light and Near, all he had to do was keep his cool.

Mikami all but collapsed in front of the man "God?"

Light grinned grew larger "In the flesh as they say, come on, you and I have some catching up to do. The agent behind us has even agreed obligingly to allow us to speak in private, isn't that so kind?"

Mikami finally took notice of the agent behind Light, he hadn't registered before. It was Gevanni, and he looked none too pleased about the Kiras having a meeting.

"Twenty minutes alright? That was all that Near allowed! And remember, I will be at the end of the hallway, and there are agents patrolling outside. Don't try anything funny."

Light nodded before laughing slightly "Don't worry, as I have said many times, I wouldn't miss this trial for anything. Why don't you go and do something else fun, go and get that girlfriend of yours and "talk" for a while. What was her name…Lidner was it?"

Gevanni groaned in exasperation, he knew that Light was teasing at this point "Twenty minutes, remember that." The agent took his leave, and closed the door behind him.

Light smile kept on his face, whilst he listened to the man's footsteps grow fainter and fainter as he moved to the end of the hallway, once they were barely audible Light's smile collapsed into a deep frown.

He looked at Mikami "We need to talk." He grabbed a chair sitting in the corner of the room and dragged it in front of Mikami before gesturing for him to sit.

Mikami obligingly took a seat whilst Light began pacing from one side of the room to the other, after repeating this process several times, the young man seemed to have collected his thoughts.

"Near is up to something." he muttered lowly, whilst folding his arms and looking out of the lone window in Mikami's room.

Mikami decided to press for answers "What do you mean God?"

Light frowned in irritation before turning to look at Mikami dead in the eyes "He is too nonchalant, he has lost some of his deviousness. He is treating me as if I am not a threat."

Mikami nodded "Is that not preferable my Lord?"

Light shook his head and sighed "I forget you aren't as intelligent as me, simply put, Near and those like him would never let their guard around someone like myself. Unless…"

"Unless what God?" asked Mikami, thoroughly intrigued himself.

"Unless Near has something in his possession that can stop me, he possesses a deck of cards that I don't know about." said Light quickly, whilst irritably drumming his fingers along his folded forearm.

"What do you mean God?" asked Mikami, now fully invested in the situation.

"The day you got bail, I agreed to play a game with Near, and he got out a chessboard. We spoke for a while, and I said somethings that I normally wouldn't say to anyone. Not only that, but he too talked to me about personal things, the likes of which are never discussed with your enemy. I don't know why I said what I did." said Light quickly, and with a hint of fear.

Mikami was confused as well, was Near using something to make Light act strange. Was Light being drugged? He wasn't sure if Near would resort to those measures, but he did lack morals as far as Mikami was concerned. No, Mikami was certain; it was within the realm of possibility. Both Near and Light were willing to do anything to win, of course the prodigy would resort to such subversive means to obtain another advantage over Light.

Light sat down on the bed with an exhausted look on his face before looking at Mikami with a hint of desperation "Mikami, answer me this. Have I been acting oddly around you at all these last few weeks, did I have mood swings or anything?"

Mikami shook his head "No God, you were consistent in how you acted."

Light growled in frustration before hitting the wall "Damn it! It must be true then, I have been acting normally these past few weeks, and the moment you and I are separated everything goes to hell. There is no doubt! The bastard planned for this to happen, I guarantee you that he started messing with me that very morning! Even if I wanted bail, I wouldn't have ever gotten it! He must be drugging me or something!"

Mikami wasn't particularly shocked by Light's sudden emotional outburst, it was reasonable if he was angry about speaking of things that he wanted to keep to himself. He didn't bother trying to calm the man, Light was more vulnerable in this state, he was more likely to make mistakes and say things he normally wouldn't. Teru was certain he could use this to his advantage.

Light began breathing in an attempt to calm himself, before turning to look at Mikami and placing a hand on the prosecutor's shoulder "Mikami, don't you see? This is all Near's plan, that was why he separated us from the flight onwards. He was judging how much of a threat you were, and he judged you as an acceptable risk for the reward of screwing with my mind."

The man rose from the bed before looking at the window again "I think he is trying to ruin my testimony, if I start saying things I don't normally say during the middle of a speech I will look like a moron! No one is going to trust a God that spaces out in the middle of a damned speech! And he is taking advantage of me as well; he is trying to make me think I regret things that I most certainly don't feel any shame about!"

Mikami kept his face straight, while making his look seem slightly concerned. In all honesty, as long as Light kept control of his feelings and avoided a complete emotional breakdown, the addition of drugging changed little. The plan wasn't affected.

Light angrily hit the wall "That bastard! Who the hell does he think he is screwing with?"

Mikami spoke up trying to calm the man "If he is drugging you, then perhaps you should pretend to eat your food and dispose of it when you aren't being watched?"

Light nodded before waving the question off "I have already planned to do that, I got rid of breakfast that way." He took a deep breath and unclenched his fist, before looking at Mikami and putting a hand on his shoulder "What I want you to do is simple, if I look in anyway worse for wear or different before I am asked to give testimony, you will cause a massive commotion."

Mikami nodded, knowing that Light would explain why.

Light continued "Chances are the morons will take ten or twenty minutes to get you under control, or better yet they may even suspend the courts proceedings for that day. If so, I should be in perfect condition the next day."

Mikami nodded again "Yes my Lord."

Light nodded before sitting down a gazing out the window again "If all goes according to plan, I will be God of the New World very soon. Then you and I will rule over it together."

Mikami nodded keeping up his loyal dog act. But inside he felt a pang of anger and remorse, he needed no further reasoning to betray Light. The man had become too far gone from the original goal of Kira; he once again seemed more concerned with becoming God than ridding the world of criminals.

Light gazed out the window for a few minutes, and silence invaded the room, he blinked a couple of times and seemed lost to the world. Suddenly after a long period of inactivity he looked at Mikami with an almost dazed expression which expressed confusion and a hint of fear.

He spoke up "Mikami, do you ever think what we are doing is wrong?"

Mikami's eyes widened slightly "God?"

Light shook his head slowly "Not God Mikami, we've been through this, you can call me Light."

Mikami's mouth widened slightly, before closing and accepting the new information "Our time is up Light, you should see yourself out before the agent comes back and gets angry."

Light nodded confirming that he had heard what Mikami had said but instead began speaking about something else "Ryuk once said something to me about my plan to rid the world of all the criminals, do you know what he said?"

Mikami couldn't help but ask "No, what did he say?"

Light sighed "He said that if I killed all the murders and criminals, then I would be the only criminal left."

Mikami watched the man slowly walk over to the door, grasping the knob and twisting it to the left. Before pulling the door open, he turned to look at Mikami again "Now that I think about it, in some ways he was right."

Mikami blinked in confusion as the man left, things were getting odder by the second. He couldn't help but ask one question repeatedly in his head.

" _Who was that?"_

Whoever Mikami had just spoken to was most certainly not Light Yagami, Light Yagami had not once shown any regret or remorse in the entirety of the time Mikami had personally known him. He constantly thought of plans and manipulated people for his own personal gain. He didn't feel regret! He never felt regret!

"Interesting isn't it?" said an unfamiliar Shinigami who had appeared in the room. He was a golden skeleton, encrusted with jewels that shined rather dully, as if over the years they had their glow had been stolen.

Mikami stiffened in surprise, before turning to look at him "Who are you… and how long have you been here for?"

The Shinigami tapped a finger on his chin before a shaking his head "Long enough I suppose, doesn't really matter does it? My name is Armonia Justin Beyondormason, But Armonia will do."

Mikami frowned before asking a question "Why are you here? And what do you want?"

Armonia stared inquisitively at Mikami "Ryuk has met such interesting creatures; I have never encountered a human who would question a Death God with such boldness."

Mikami frown softened, being bold equated to being rude, and he hated being rude "My apologies if I come off as impolite, I am in a stressful situation at the moment, forgive me if I come off as disrespectful."

The Golden Death God grinned slightly "You are respectful as well; yes you are quite the specimen. Well, this will be very interesting, I would like to make a deal with you should you succeed with your plan."

Mikami's eyes widened in shock "You… you know?"

The God of Death waved his question off "But of course, I have been watching both you and Light for the last few days very closely. And I have been distantly keeping an eye on Ryuk's little game since the beginning, mostly to make sure he didn't do something stupid. I know almost everything, and I must say it is extremely interesting for someone like me. I am not particularly inquisitive, so to draw my attention is quite the feat, you should be proud. You and Light Yagami have proven that the human world isn't as boring as I once believed."

Mikami nodded dumbly for a second, before shaking off his shock "Very well, what of this deal?"

The Shinigami grinned widely before clasping his hands together in excitement "I want to make a trade if you will, the amount of time I can directly spend here on Earth is very limited. Three days at a time, so I had to observe you throughout the week with only seventy-two hours at my disposal. That's not enough to sate my thirst."

Mikami nodded "Continue."

The Shinigami slowly closed the distance between the two, towering over Mikami and knelt down slightly to face him at eye level "If you succeed in your plan, I will allow you to take one of my spare Death Notes and will also lease you my knowledge of the Death Note which is second to not even the Shinigami King. I am after all his right-hand man. I know you aren't particularly well-versed in the ins and outs of the Death Note, with my help you will have an even greater knowledge than Light Yagami does."

Mikami nodded before asking a question "What do you want in return?"

"In return, I only want to follow you around, like Ryuk does Light Yagami. I want to observe you and watch what you do, so that I may entertain myself. Staying here also lets me keep an eye on Ryuk, who is at the moment a bit of loose cannon amongst the Shinigami."

Mikami nodded before closing his eyes in thought, after a moment he nodded "Very well, I accept your gracious offer, when my plan succeeds I will take ownership of your Death Note."

Armonia grinned in delight before chuckling slightly in a dry baritone manner "Very well, I will answer a few questions as a show of good faith."

Mikami jumped at the offer like a starving dog does at meat "Why is Light acting so odd?"

Armonia lazily stretched before looking at Mikami with mirth "Can't you see? The Death Note is like a drug for Light Yagami, well not the Death Note itself, but rather the power it gives him. Power is like a drug for Light, he is addicted. I know that better than anyone else, except maybe you, Ryuk and Nate River."

Mikami bit his lip in thought before speaking again "What do you mean it has worn off, and why has it changed him?"

The Death God answered Mikami instantly "He has lost his power, he is no longer gaining it and if anything he is losing it fast. So Light's character is probably falling to bits, power is like a glue for him, he can keep himself together as long as he has it."

Mikami kept silent, allowing the Shinigami to continue uninterrupted.

"Anyways, Light most likely had problems with using the Death Note at the start, most people do." said Armonia, before looking at Mikami "Except you of course, even I was shocked by how many you killed with the Death Note on the first day. I watched you all that day as well; you didn't even hesitate before you began filling that book with names."

"And?" asked Mikami unable to see the Shinigami's point "Why would I have a problem with taking out the trash?"

Beyondormason didn't answer that question but decided to continue the answer to Mikami's first query "No normal human just kills people without having a reason for it, and even then deep down they feel regret and sorrow. That is the first step, after that they have to find something to keep themselves together or else they come undone. Many humans have used Death Notes over the years, and each one has had a reason to keep using it. Money, power, lust or love always kept them using that book until they were a shadow of themselves."

Mikami nodded "So Light kept it for power?"

Armonia nodded "Not at first, but yes it eventually developed into that, a compulsive and all-consuming need to become God. I guarantee you if the Light of five years ago met his current self he would be disgusted. Anyways, he took no notice of minor things than he was doing, the human casualties and other such trifles; he focused only on the big picture. But now that picture has gone, and Light is now dealing with that."

Mikami tried to voice his understanding of it "So the power Light had was like a flood gate keeping his emotions inside, and once the power left, the emotions came crashing through?"

Armonia smiled "Almost, even I was surprised with how Light's mind is dealing with it, nothing is ever simple with the Death Note users. Light's mind is slowly trickling the information through, before patching up the leak with more delusions of grandeur which culminate to form…"

"The mood swings." answered Mikami.

The bejewelled skeleton looked at Mikami approvingly and nodded "Yes. They will get worse with time, until Light's mind figures out how to deal with it."

Mikami nodded "So Near isn't drugging him?"

Beyondormason shrugged his shoulders "I can't say if he is or not, but drugs aren't the cause of Light's behaviour."

Mikami nodded gratefully "Thank you for enlightening me, I will see if I can make use of this information."

Armonia nodded before raising his hand in a universal gesture of 'stop' "Well, that is all the time I can afford to spend at the moment. Good luck with your plan, I will see you on the other side." And with that the Shinigami disappeared, literally phasing out of sight.

Mikami looked at the clock it was now half twelve, which gave him plenty of time to do as he wished. Right now, he wanted his phone call.

He slowly made his way out of his room and prison before heading in the direction of the single public phone he was aware of. He needed to talk to someone who Barnes had made him remember. Hikari Kimura; that was a name he hadn't thought of in a long time.

Hikari had been a very special person to himself, she was like an angel, so pure and clean. He had been in love with her from the day they had met, but he had never worked up the courage to speak to her. She was the daughter of the village Kannushi, the priest that maintained the Shinto shrine in the village, and she was one of the most humble people he had ever met.

It wasn't a childish crush, he had had a view of those before meeting her, but each time he grew out of them. Either because he saw those he was attracted to for their true selves, vain little creatures caught up in little power struggles. Each girl he found himself interested in was vying for popularity and willing to persuade, cajole, coerce or lie their way to further influence and popularity. They didn't realise it, and most did grow out of it, but some were like Takada and never did.

Unfortunately, his grandmother doted on that girl as if she were her own, and didn't like the idea of the "bastard" son of her daughter ruining the life of another girl that she treasured. So she always made it hard for them to interact, it was only during the summer when his grandmother was caught up with trying to help his mother that he could speak with Hikari.

The more he reflected on it, the more Mikami realised just how resentful he was of his family. That was childish of him, he was to be God's representative on Earth, and so such childishness was absolutely unacceptable. He had to be totally unbiased and fair, completely consistent and without a shadow of a doubt he had to judge someone before he killed them. He couldn't kill for selfish reasons, for that was only going to lead to him becoming another Light.

Mikami kept walking, but from his memory he knew that he was getting close to the phone. He nervously ran a hand through his hair, he still had her number, he had memorised it. Before the Death Note had become involved in his life, he had planned to rekindle their old relationship now that he had a high paying job. Her father and mother would have no qualms about her marrying him because he was more than capable of providing for her, and now that she was an adult there was very little that his grandmother could do to stop her.

Of course, either work or his own trepidation had constantly frustrated his attempts; he had become a well-paid prosecutor at the unprecedented age of twenty-two. If he had worked up the courage, he would have asked her right then. But he kept putting it off. The girl did love him, but neither particularly wanted to voice that, as it was too embarrassing for either of them. It had taken him until twenty-seven to work up the courage to speak to her, but before he could the Death Note came into his life.

Before he knew it, he was there. The phone was a public one, but was capable of international calls. Mikami grabbed the phone, and began slowly punching in the numbers he had memorised perfectly. He wouldn't get to do anything for himself soon, and life would become infinitely harder, so he wanted to talk with someone whom he trusted and knew one last time.

He listened idly to the ringing, whilst he frowned and stood stiff as a board waiting for a reply, Japan was nine hours ahead, so he had no doubt that it was late in the evening there.

He heard a click and his breath hitched.

"Hello?" a feminine voice asked on the other side of the line.

Mikami spoke calmly, in an attempt to hide his own nervousness "Hello."

"I'm sorry who is this?" asked the woman, unable to guess who had called her.

Mikami swallowed before answering clearly and succinctly "Teru Mikami."

The line was silent for a few seconds, before she spoke again "T-Teru?"

"Yes." said Mikami, prepared for a cold response. He had always pushed the possibility of such an event to the back of his head, but as it was he hadn't seen the woman in a long time.

The line was silent once more, as the woman struggled to think of what to say.

"It has been a while." continued Mikami, trying to end the awkward silence.

A small muffled noise could be heard on the other side of the line, before it developed into a small laugh from the woman. "We haven't spoken to each other in twelve years and that's the first thing you say? You haven't changed Teru, you are as blunt as ever."

Teru found a rare pleasant smile gracing his lips "That was always my strong point Hikari. If I remember correctly, you ordered me not to change when I left the village that summer."

"You remembered?" asked Hikari, her voice showing her shock.

"If I can recall you put it like this 'Don't let the world change who you are Teru-kun, instead make the world change for you'." answered Mikami, now noticing the irony of those words.

The woman choked on a sob "I guess you haven't changed a bit, there isn't a day I don't regret what happened that day."

Mikami frowned "What is there for you to regret? It wasn't your fault, you were blameless. My grandmother grew sick of my presence, and so she barred me from returning to the village. It wasn't your fault."

"Still I could have done something. Instead I just sat and let you go." said Hikari, still trying to hold in her sobbing.

Mikami had always loved how determined and optimistic Hikari was; she always saw the best in people. Not once did she ever look down on someone or think badly of them. She was in many ways his contrast, whilst he looked dispassionately at some of the scum that littered the village; she always reminded him that they were capable of changing. He respected that, but he never believed her.

"Do you remember what I told you? I said 'Keep the optimism, but make sure to be realistic as well.' You couldn't have done anything, besides it was twelve years ago." assured Mikami, in an attempt to calm down the woman.

Mikami kept an eye on his watch, it was very easy for him to be caught up in pointless chatter, and while he had a lot of spare time, he didn't want to waste it all.

"Mikami?" asked Hikari, her voice quiet and timid but still somewhat forceful.

Mikami remember that tone, it usually was followed by her scolding him for something "Yes?"

"You're Kira?" asked Hikari, although she already knew she needed an answer.

Mikami kept silent for a moment, before gathering the courage to answer "It isn't as simple as that, but for all intents and purposes, yes I am."

There were a million different scenarios running through his head, what if she rejected him? She was always very kind; she probably would be offended by his methods. Also, in the practical side of things it was extremely interesting that she knew this; it seemed that the trial had made world news as expected.

The woman nodded, although Mikami couldn't see it "Alright, I don't really know what to say about that. So I'll say one thing Teru, regardless of what anyone else tells you, you do what you feel is right. The village loves you; they think you are a God or a prophet. Even your grandmother approves of what you are doing, and if you honestly are doing what you are doing for the good of Earth; I approve of you too."

Mikami didn't know why be he felt a compulsive need to show his gratitude "Thank you Hikari."

Mikami felt it prudent to end the conversation here, he had so much to say, but that could come later. He spoke quickly "I have to go now Hikari, things will be changing in the next couple of days, so don't think any less of me for it."

"I never will, you know that." said Hikari resolutely.

Mikami smiled once more "I'll speak to you at a later date; we can catch up on old times then. Until then, goodbye."

"Goodbye, Teru, and please call." said Hikari, clearly disappointed with the rather brief reunion.

Teru placed the phone down hanging it up. His thoughts were consuming himself; a lot was going to happen in next few days. Once the plan came into effect, he would be in a rather foreign situation, so things would be difficult.

He remembered what the village thought of him as, a 'Prophet'. It reminded him of a saying and he couldn't help but link it to the power struggle currently going on.

Mikami thought of L, the detective whom he had never met and couldn't help but say one phrase "What is a mob to a king?"

He thought of Light and his plans to rule the world "What is a king to a God?"

He thought of Near and his plans to stop Light at all costs "What is a God to a non-believer?"

He then thought of himself and his plans to put an end to a heretical power play between a demented genius obsessed with Godhood and an atheist boy who was more concerned with proving that he could beat his adversary than protecting the innocent.

Mikami smirked slightly "What is a non-believer, to an inquisitor?"


	12. The First Reformation

To say that Light Yagami was nervous was an understatement, it had happened again. He had said things that were extremely out of character for him; he had always prided himself in his self-control and composure so the idea of lacking control over his actions was both inconceivable and terrifying. There were practical issues along with psychological problems caused by this situation, and he had to admit, he was glad that Teru was such a loyal dog.

Light ran his hand through his hair, and tried opening conversation with Gevanni. He had elected to go straight to the court room, and wait outside. The trial wasn't far away; another fifteen minutes and it would begin.

"So, looking forward to my incarceration agent?" asked Light with a smirk, forgetting his troubles for the moment.

Gevanni rolled his eyes "I doubt that any answer I give would stop you from talking, so I'll answer honestly. Yes I do."

Light grinned "I am not surprised, but aren't you afraid? About what is going to happen to you if I am pardoned? Aren't you S.P.K afraid for yourselves?"

Gevanni looked at him incredulously "You think I would have joined this investigation if I was even remotely scared of you? Granted, the FBI and CIA draftees may be slightly unnerved, but anybody Near handpicked isn't afraid of you."

"Tell me, do you have a family? A wife maybe?"

"If you think threatening her is going to do anything, you are sorely mistaken."

Light shook his head and chuckled "I wasn't threatening her, just bringing you up to date with the situation. What do you think is going to happen to you all when I get the Death Note back? You sure I won't just kill you all, because I am debating it at the moment."

Stephen growled slightly "You're a sick bastard, if that court lets you off, I would rather die than live in a world like that. My wife wouldn't want to live there either."

Light sighed "I don't see why everyone thinks I am the villain, yes I've killed some innocent people, but the ends justify the means. What are a hundred innocent lives to the betterment of humanity, it isn't pleasant yes, but who are you to judge me? You are just a sycophant to an emotionally detached teenager who plays with human lives like dolls. I know him, just like I knew his predecessor. Hypocrites the both of them, although, Near is the better of the two in that regard. He goes against me just to prove that he can beat me, unlike L who was so obsessed with "justice". Unfortunately, your prized successor to the mantle of L is in no way his equal but don't let that get you down. I will stop insulting him, because that probably upsets you."

Stephen turned around with fire in his eyes "And I find it hypocritical that you are criticising me when you barely are aware of the work that being in the S.P.K entails, and considering you already have someone who licks your own boots for you."

"I don't recall anyone else really caring what Mikami does, you just treat him as if he is an animal anyways, so what does it matter if I treat him like a dog? Besides, I am kind to him, and he is happy to work with me."

Gevanni countered Light's point "He serves under you, but he doesn't work with you. It is disappointing to see that someone is so far gone they can't see that they are serving a psychopath. Of course Mikami is a psychopath himself."

"You use that word, but I don't think you know what it means. Perhaps Mikami is slightly "unhinged" but he feels emotions towards other people. The very fact that he puts my own life on a higher pedestal than his own is not psychopathic behaviour."

"You know what I mean, that man is off the deep end! He is a ticking time bomb, and he has went off once before. He doesn't feel remorse; he doesn't feel regret and he definitely doesn't feel in anyway sorry. How the hell can someone like him exist?" said Gevanni shaking his head wearily. "When I was surveying him, it was no overstatement to say that he terrified me. He killed one hundred and thirty two people per day, and acted like nothing was wrong. Everything was robotic, no changes and no deviations. Kill, eat, work, eat, exercise, work, eat, kill and sleep. That was his schedule in a nutshell."

"That is why I chose him; he is a strict adherent to his schedule. He doesn't deviate if he can help it; it is funny that the one time that he did deviate he nearly destroyed everything." said Light slyly, with a glint in his eye.

The First Kira looked up at the ceiling with a contemplative expression "The best thing is; he is probably the most brutal of all the Kiras. I had to rein him in a couple of times because he was too draconian. He wanted to kill lazy people you know? Although, he has changed since then, he is oddly enough growing a lot more intelligent. But that is beside the point. Anyways, he is not that different to me, most of the traits that Mikami embodies are present in me as well. That is, after all, why I chose him. It made sense, who better to carry out my will than someone similar to myself?

"Sounds stupid to me." commented Gevanni with a huff.

"How so?"

"If Mikami is a similar to you as you say, then he is your worst enemy. It is like when a clone grows tired of the original, it believes itself to be superior and replaces the other. That is the same logic here, how long until Mikami tires of your games and disposes of you? By picking someone so similar to you, you are running the risk of him reacting identically to how you would. There is only so far fanaticism will go, and I wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of that."

Light quieted down after that, contemplating the agent's words. He wasn't wrong, Teru's loyalty was strong, but it had its limits. As long as the God illusion was kept, Light was safe. The moment that the farce fell apart; he was treading on thin ice. The moment Teru even considered the possibility that he was fallible; he was in danger of being replaced. All it took was Mikami to consider Light slightly evil for the prosecutor to bite the hand that fed him and tear off the arm with it.

Light frowned; Mikami had been seeing a lot of examples of his failings, how long before he put two and two together? How long before he began to shift the blame from himself to Light?

Light nodded slowly that was a possibility, and considering that, he would probably kill Mikami. As unfitting an end as it was, Light had been failing to see his use anymore. He was a danger to be honest, he had originally planned to replace him with someone else, but why let him live? He had no reason to keep him around other than his loyalty, and considering what Gevanni had said, Light felt like a fool for not considering the possibility.

He could hear animated talking as Barnes appeared with Mikami in tow. The agent was chatting enthusiastically, whilst Teru kept quiet and reserved. Teru had straightened himself out, his hair was brushed and his suit clean. It was clear that he wanted to look presentable.

Barnes smiled as he walked up to Gevanni "Hey man, sorry to hear that you are going in there again. That court is boring as hell; I don't want to sit through even ten minutes of that ever again."

Gevanni nodded with a smile of his own "It may be boring to you; but everything is decided on what happens today. Today is the big day, and you are on off-duty. What are you going to do? Smoke?"

Cody laughed "You know me too well, today is another day, and I suppose I will. What's Lidner up to?"

"She is guarding the, well, you know?" answered Gevanni cautiously.

Barnes shook his head "What? The Death Note? You think those two couldn't guess that it was in the building, besides what are they going to do? They are stuck in a courtroom that isn't even close to where the damn thing is being held."

Barnes checked his watch before looking up smiling warmly "Hey man, I gotta go, the court is going to start soon. I'll see you later; there is a bar I saw when I was out with Mikami. It looks nice, want to go there after?"

Gevanni grinned and shook his head "I shouldn't but what the hell? It maybe the last drink I ever have."

The jury started to congregate, and before Light could even study them, they were making their way into the room. The Judge was already inside, and the Bailiff was also standing and waiting. Light felt himself being nudged inside, as Gevanni led him and Mikami to their seats.

He had barely sat down before the Bailiff spoke "All rise for the honourable Judge Bailey."

Light stood, and smile slightly as he saw Mikami standing as well. It would seem that he learnt his lesson, that or he was doing it for Light's benefit. Probably the latter, Mikami was stubborn, and wouldn't accept any other viewpoint that his own or God's.

The trial began slowly, with the first topic being a moral and ethical debate on the usage of the Death Note. Whilst there were some interesting points raised both against and in favour of using it, Light ultimately disregarded the debate itself. The entire discussion, despite the moral complexities, was being held for only one reason. To see whether he was guilty or not. What a waste.

The debate carried on for at least thirty minutes, before the Judge called it off. Each side was fighting the other to a standstill and the last few minutes had turned into an insult trading match more than anything else. The jury had become children, calling each other names and slurs.

Light zoned out for a while after the debate, whilst he would admit it was unprofessional of him, he didn't see anything worth listening to. The court was currently trying to figure out whether or not he was sane. It would seem that their defence lawyer was trying to convince the court so.

"Perhaps Defendant Light Yagami's sanity is questionable, but Defendant Teru Mikami isn't in the right state of mind." announced the lawyer, a short and honestly quite pathetic looking man. His face was crinkled with worry lines, and his suit was in a similar state as well. His grey hair betrayed his age, and with the state of his clothing and facial hair, Light would be surprised if they picked the man off the street.

Mikami frowned deeply and his eye twitched dangerously. Light noticed that was how he seems to show if he didn't like something. And with the glare he was giving? If looks could kill, then Mikami's was genocide.

There was a loud roar as a sea of people cried out in anger, slightly muffled by the walls and distance but coherent none the less "Let them go!"

The protestors had shown up, and Mikami had been right. They had shown up in force. He didn't know how many had appeared, but ten thousand was a low estimate in his regard. Perhaps they were out in the country side but they showed up in strength regardless. The crowd had been chanting his name and Mikami's begging and demanding that they be let go or cleared of all charges for quite some time now. They were outraged that he and his accomplice were even being tried, and wanted them let go immediately. It was as if an army had arrived and made camp outside Wammy's House.

The fact that he had mustered such support brought a smile to Light's face. It reminded him of an old idiom "The voice of the people is the voice of God". Regardless of his own beliefs in religion, it had to be conceded, he who has the support of the masses controls everything.

Mikami had a smile gracing his features upon hearing the sound, and Light found it strangely comforting as well. They both felt that regardless of how or what happened in this trial, they were in the right. Their work was vindicated by the presence of the protestors.

Mikami took a breath and let his smile blossom into a grin. He looked to the clock on the wall. And his grin grew wider, hiding any fear or doubt behind the confidence he was drawing from within himself. It was a feeble comfort yes, but all it had to do was keep him from breaking down until he could execute the plan. Everything was coming together.

Five minutes.

Five minutes until he changed the world.

"Defendant Light Yagami, please come to give testimony." asked the Bailiff, looking exasperated over having to call the defendant to give testimony.

"Gladly." said Light professionally and without a hint of fear. He walked up to the box and gave nothing away, he was composed and in control. Kira was speaking.

"Defendant, normally I wouldn't ask you to give testimony. But your lawyer has brought up several points that should be taken into account; your lawyer mentioned that your opinion of the detective L was low. Ordinarily that means nothing, but you have stated several things that need to be clarified. What kind of man was L?" asked Judge Bailey, who was looking worse than ever. The man's worry lines were like trenches on his skin. It was no wonder considering the situation outside.

"He was an intelligent and pragmatic person but ultimately he was also a narcissistic and arrogant individual, who felt that he was above the law, similar to me. But rather than openly state so, he made several comments showing that he cared for the law and believed himself to be justice. He held double standards, criticising me for killing innocent people and declaring me evil, but had no qualms about letting innocents die or torturing others to get what he wanted." answered Light calmly and factually allowing no emotion to leak into his voice.

"Testaments from some of your colleagues state that you were friends with him, or were in some way on speaking terms with him. Is that true?"

"That is true, yes."

The door suddenly burst open, with several riot officers coming in with worried looks on their faces. The one Mikami assumed to be the leader spoke "Sirs, we have to adjourn the court, somehow the crowd found a way around us. Some back route or something, whatever it was they are currently pushing past the reserves we were able to mobilise to respond. If we try to get the other sections to disengage and help, the entire perimeter will collapse and they will be knocking on the front door."

Teru's grin grew wider, as he hid it beneath the knuckle of his hand, that boy had worked wonders for him.

Judge Bailey looked troubled with his worry lines crinkling as he frowned in thought. The man stood to his feet and shook his head "I won't allow this court to be bullied by terrorists! We will adjourn when it is appropriate, not by the whims of some rabble! If they want to come in here let them, but I am not cowering and will not bend! This court will continue!"

Mikami shook his head, it didn't matter anyway.

Thirty seconds.

"Defendant, why if he was opposed to you did he make friends with you?" asked the Judge focusing intently on Light's reaction.

"He was human. Don't they all make mistakes?" said Light dismissively, only afterwards noticing how arrogant his answer was.

"We." corrected Mikami, bracing himself.

Light looked at him oddly before realising what he meant, his frown turned into a look of horror. He opened his mouth to speak, but he was unable to. That was when the explosion happened.

A rumble of colossal proportions sounded as a fire ball exploded close to where Light had been sitting. It was as if sound itself had let out a primeval roar. The shockwave knocked the jury from their seats and enveloped the Bailiff. The Judge was knocked unconscious as shrapnel hit his head, by pure chance the man would live to tell the tale.

A thick black smoke obscured the room, like fog in the mountains; it was almost impossible to see. Mikami calmly stood, having prepared himself beforehand, and began making his way quickly down through the middle of the court room. Barnes had done it.

He coughed as he fought not to inhale smoke, and pushed himself through the ruined court to the doors. He wasn't safe yet, he needed one last thing. He pulled open the doors, as quickly as he could and smiled in relief.

The protestors had reached outside the doors and were a disorganised mass, plumes of smoke began to escape the room. Mikami slipped into the crowd and kept his head down, if he was recognised in the crowd, he was doomed.

The confusion was palpable, as the crowd roared in both fear and anger, whilst the screams of agony sounded from the court; Teru Mikami took taken full advantage of the situation and disappeared into the sea of people.

* * *

Cody Barnes had always been a family man, his family were his everything. In every way, he had been blessed with an extraordinarily normal life. He married his childhood sweetheart, proposed to her under a tree and she had tearfully agreed. Now he had a small loving five year old daughter with blonde hair and bright blue eyes, the spitting image of her mother. And a baby boy was on the way, and Cody childishly hoped that he would be just like his father, tall, broad dark haired and green eyed.

He loved his family, which was why he was doing this. Perhaps some would look down on him but, but as far as he was concerned, he was picking the option that would be for his family. He did respect the ideals of Kira, and thus held a modicum of respect for Mikami inherently from his position. But this wasn't some moral debate over criminality or some other ideal he held. The man would keep his family safe, and Cody was willing to do everything to make sure that he got a hold of the Death Note.

He knocked on the door, before patiently waiting for it to open. He could here shifting inside as several locks were unlocked. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the door opened.

To be honest, the idea of holding two of the most powerful weapons on earth at an orphanage was a horrible idea. This was the problem with having such egos competing against each other, they just loved to flaunt their superiority like savage waving spears. There were plenty of other places they could have been held, places that would have made Teru's plan impossible. The makeshift nature of the entire protection of the objects was, well in his opinion, quite childish. A locked door and a few armed guards? There had been cameras, but the night before they had suffered a "malfunction" courtesy of an "accidentally" spilled cup of coffee at the control room caused by one of the orphans that resided here.

Barnes smiled in greeting to the agent who had come to meet him; there were three in the room. They didn't have a shift so to speak, it was really three agents who had drawn the short stick. They stayed until they were relieved.

Barnes spoke up, the man was large and broad so his lie was more believable "Hey, Near wants some more men up by the courtroom, he is getting worried about the protestors. I am to swap with you."

The guy looked to Lidner, who was also in the room, she looked into Barnes' eyes before turning to the man and nodding "Go ahead, the last thing we need is some protestors getting in here."

Barnes stood to the side to let the large man through, before checking his watch.

Just in time.

Barnes walked into the room, and observed the holding case for the books. There were two of them, one that Near had gotten a hold of from a member of the original Kira task force and the one Mikami had been using last.

There was an eerie quiet in the room and it probably reflected the tension that was hanging over their heads like a cloud. He would be tenser if Mikami hadn't given specific instructions, should he not meet the man at the arranged time, with five minutes of error, he was to take the books and burn them preventing their use by anyone. Mikami's reasoning was that it could not fall back into Near or Light's hands.

He looked to the newish looking agent, he recognised the boy, and he was certainly new. His name was Stephen Anderson; the boy had been a newcomer to Barnes' office when he was working with the CIA. He had volunteered with him, and Barnes had taken care of him occasionally. The boy was quite naïve and wasn't really well regarded, in fact if he remembered correctly he was sent to bring food to Light and Mikami whilst they were in their cell back in Tokyo.

"Anderson!" said Barnes sternly, having checked his watch and steeling himself. This was going to be hard.

"Yes sir?" responded the younger agent turning to face the elder agent, his face showed how nervous he was.

"What have I told you about servicing your weapon? Give it here I need to see the gun." said Barnes sternly.

The boy handed him the pistol hesitantly, but any suspicion vanished when Barnes began taking it apart and appraising it. He took it apart bit by bit, checking the status of all of its inner parts.

Lidner thought it was suspicious, but she could understand the reasoning. The young learned from the experience, Barnes was probably just teaching him.

Barnes took the magazine out and checked to see if there was no round in the chamber. He checked his watch, and went behind the boy. He rested a hand on his own pistol and checked the time.

Three.

Two.

One.

He could hear the muffled explosion, and with that he quickly threw the disassembled weapon to the ground, and with his second movement brought his left arm around the boy's neck and pointed his own pistol at Anderson's head.

Lidner, who had reacted by reaching for his pistol when the explosion occurred, was surprised by the turn of events. She looked in shock before trying to pull out her own pistol.

"Drop it! Drop it now! Unclip the holster and kick it away or this boy's head gets blown off!" roared Barnes, allowing the momentum to keep him going. He pulled back the hammer, to show he was serious.

Lidner growled before nodding, and dropping the holster and weapon to the ground kicking it to the side and raising her hands in the air. She shook her head "You of all people, what the hell do you want?"

"Open the box now! Take the two notebooks out and kick them towards me."

"You can't be serious-" she began only to be cut off by a gunshot being fired just above Anderson's head.

"Try me." warned Barnes, looking at her seriously.

She nodded hesitantly, before opening the box. It was locked with a key pad, the only technologically advanced object that Barnes had seen in this orphanage. The box was made of bullet proof glass, so there was no point in shooting it.

She finished imputing the code before doing as she was told removing the notebooks and kicking them to his feet.

"Barnes what the hell do you think you are doing? I thought you were better than this, the world will hunt you down!" said Lidner frowning in disgust. The woman's face showed some thinly veiled hurt at his betrayal, but they had only ever been colleagues.

Barnes sighed, his eyes blank but the sorrow evident in them "No I won't. Lidner. For what it's worth, I'm sorry."

He removed the gun from the boy's head before pointing it at her and firing it several times into her chest, there wasn't a chance of her surviving the wounds.

She coughed before fearlessly stepping forward "Just…" another wet cough interrupted her "Just let the boy go." She reached out but collapsed to the ground, the light fading from her eyes.

Cody's mouth twitched before he blinked rapidly, he had killed her. He had killed his colleague.

Anderson's whimpering, which he had ignored the entire time, was almost overpowering now. It filled the almost silent room and reminded him that there was another person with him.

And now he would kill another colleague.

"Anderson, I am so sorry." said Barnes pushing the boy away from him and pointing his gun at him. The young man turned to face him with fear on his face; Barnes let his feelings show in his own eyes "I am so sorry son."

With that, Barnes shot the boy in the head, killing him instantly.

Barnes kneeled down to pick up the books before shuddering. He looked at the haunting eyes of the two he had just killed with their last question still evident in their eyes.

" _Why did it have to come to this?" thought Barnes inwardly._

As Barnes picked up the Death Notes and left the room, he came to an answer. He frowned and his fists shook in anger "It is your fault Yagami, if you hadn't been such a power hungry tyrant I wouldn't have had to do this! My family wouldn't have been in danger!"

With that though firmly in his head, Barnes turned to head swiftly to the meeting point.

* * *

C leaned against a wall trying to catch his breath; it was as if hellfire itself was in his lungs. This was ridiculous. What had he been thinking? Two favours, only two. How the hell had it turned into this? He had agreed to deal with security measures for Mikami, which eventually resulted in him sabotaging the camera system, which he would admit was fun. He felt as if he was in the French resistance in World War Two. But Teru had been smart, dealing with security measures also entailed telling the protestors the weak points in the security force's perimeter. That was all one favour.

The next favour was to deal with some evidence, which was the reason for his current lack of breath. Why the hell did he think that it was a good idea to carry around a jerry can? These things were heavy! Not to mention that it wasn't particularly easy to get one of these things. He hadn't even been told what he was disposing of, just to go into the room and burn whatever was lying around along with the corridor. The cameras here were gone, and he knew the blind spots, so the likelihood of him being found out was slim.

As he dragged the can along huffing like a wolf from a fairy-tale he had once heard, he ran into an agent that he recognised. The man was currently smoking as he was jogging his way to the closest exit. Upon noticing C, he ran his hand through his hair nervously before taking his cigarette out and handing it to Claude.

"You'll need it."

C accepted it and continued on not paying much thought to the man's expression. As he drew closer to the room there was a noticeable metallic stench. Iron, or so he thought, it seemed similar enough anyways. How was he meant to burn iron?

The teenager walked through the door before his eyes widened, he dropped the jerry can and ran out into the corridor and threw up.

Dead people?

This was beyond messed up, sure he may be socially stunted but even he knew something was wrong with this. This is what Mikami meant by "disposing of evidence"?

"Get it together Claude, you aren't a child. I owe him a favour, so just get in and get it done." murmured the boy to himself, doing his best to give himself a pep-talk.

He stood up and walked back inside, he grabbed the jerry can and set about doing as he was told. Claude Delacroix was many things, but above all else he was obedient.

* * *

Mikami stumbled slightly as he pushed himself through yet another bush. This was getting difficult; he was getting out of shape. It was worrying what three weeks without regular exercise had done to him. He would have to restart his schedule once he acquired the notebooks.

He frowned as he thought of the bomb, whilst he had been caught up in the heat of it at the time, he realised now that he had most likely killed quite a few innocent people. He didn't regret it, it was necessary, but he did realise that their deaths were unfortunate. He would make sure they weren't in vain.

He pushed himself through yet another bush before he saw Barnes; the man was smoking yet another cigarette and was nervously running his hand through his hair. Mikami knew something had disturbed him, but it wasn't his place to ask.

The agent looked up in a panic like a frightened animal before calming down slightly "Oh, it's you Mikami. I did as you asked. Here." Barnes withdrew the two Death Notes and all but forced them into the former prosecutor's chest.

Mikami accepted the books, before scrutinising Barnes once more. The man looked like he was on the verge of a breakdown.

Barnes began rambling "They'll be safe won't they?

"Barnes."

"Because you promised right, they'll be safe?"

"Agent Barnes."

"Please keep them safe, there all I got alright."

"Cody!" hissed Mikami sharply stopping the man's rambling. He placed a hand on the man's shoulder "They will be fine, I promise you I will make sure they are safe. You don't need to worry about anything else."

The agent nodded before handing him a rucksack "Spare clothes, fake passport and a map. Go to the place I have marked out alright?" He took a puff of his cigarette before continuing "That's an abandoned CIA safe house we had set up here back when the Soviet Union was still a thing. There is water and some food, if you keep good pace you'll reach it by tonight."

Teru nodded absorbing the information "Thank you, I am in your debt. And what about the other one?"

Barnes handed a cell phone to Mikami "It is in there. Call me if you need me on this phone, as far as anyone else knows I was off duty. You should have no problem making it by; even the country road is full with protestors, finding you would be like finding a needle in a haystack. It helps that quite a few other Asians have come here to protest, so you won't stand out."

There was some rustling from the bushes behind them. Mikami tensed up in unease; he looked to Barnes who had drawn his gun.

A very dishevelled looking teenager came stumbling into the area; he stared at them for a moment before squeaking in fear "Friendly?"

Barnes relaxed and holstered his weapon before nodding to Mikami "You need me call, but my advice is to keep quiet for a while don't use the Death Note for a couple of days. Let this all settle down a bit."

"Very well, once again you have my gratitude. The world owes you a great deal agent, remember that. God's will is with you." said Mikami, as he looked at the sky.

Barnes nodded before walking away "Yeah, I sure hope so."

Claude watched the man leave before turning to Mikami "I did as you told me to so what now?"

Teru blinked before looking at the boy in confusion before answering "Whatever you wish, you don't owe me anything else. You may go back to the orphanage if it so pleases you."

Claude nodded, to be honest that didn't sound like too bad an idea, after what he saw today he just wanted to go back and curl up on his bed.

"Or if you wish you can come with Me." offered Mikami as he began to change into the clothes in the rucksack.

Claude stared at him in shock "You mean, outside?"

Teru answered instantly "Yes."

Claude began to shake his head violently "No, no, no, no, no, no, I am not going out there! You are insane if you think I am stepping foot outside this place!"

"No I am not; you are only going to be here for another two years or so." retorted Mikami calmly staring at the boy with a clinical eye. He shook his head "That is if they even allow the orphanage to stay open considering what has just occurred."

"Well, what else am I supposed to do?"

"As I said, you can come with me. I am offering you a choice, you can be brave or you can be scared. You can come with me, or you can go home. Either way, your life has changed irrevocably." said Mikami.

Claude stayed mute as Mikami watched him thinking.

The prosecutor nodded slowly "Yes, the world can be a horrible place, but that is why you must face it. If you don't you doom it to continue to exist in that state, how can you ever hope to overcome your fears if you will never face them? Do you remember what I said? I told you to let God guide you; I would advise that you let him guide you now. There is nothing to be afraid of in the world, only things to be disgusted or angered by."

Claude sighed slowly "Fine, I'll come. I guess I don't have much of a choice anyways."

Teru nodded curtly "Good." He then reached into the rucksack and handed him a fake passport.

Claude's eyebrows rose showing his curiosity.

The lawyer answered concisely "I felt it was likely that you would come."

Teru looked at the map before folding it and placing it back in his pocket "We should get moving now, please try to keep pace."

C nodded and followed him.


	13. The Great Game Begins

Light opened his eyes, almost blinded by the white colour that invaded his senses. He was disorientated, but he could make out a figure watching him, although it was far too blurry and only an outline was visible.

The figure moved its outline pointing its index finger towards him and with a soft voice called out "Bang."

Light blinked in confusion "What?"

The figure chuckled slightly "You are dead Light Yagami."

Light to his shame, and he swore only because of his state of disorientation and confusion, let out a scream and jumped up in his bed feeling the wires that had invaded his skin holding on to him firmly.

Light blinked a few more times and with that his senses returned to him and the figure became more clear "Do you enjoy scaring injured people Near? Is that how you get your kicks?"

Near shook his head and smiled boyishly "I doubt many could say they scared Kira."

Light shook his head and made a fleeting gesture "None that are alive anyways."

There was a brief moment of silence as Light scanned the room. It was clearly and infirmary or hospital of some description and therefore it was as white as snow. It was however lifeless, dull, and uninteresting. However he was fairly certain that he was more machine than man at the moment, because everything mechanical in the room was currently hooked up to him.

The new L saw his confusion "You were quite close to that bomb when it went off, and unfortunately for you it broke off a massive splinter of wood that made its way straight into your stomach."

Light checked under his gown, and saw the ugly and sore looking scar confirming the other genius' version of events. Once he finished assessing the damage, he grimaced.

"Your wound went gangrene unfortunately and before we knew it you went into a small coma. It took a while, but three weeks on you look… ok." said Near staring at the him and realising that in reality the man was looking more than slightly worse for wear.

"You are as good at lying as your predecessor was." said Light with a shake of his head.

"And how good was that?"

"Good question."

And thus that conversation was left there.

Light frowned "What happened? How the hell was a bomb planted in the courtroom?"

The white haired boy spoke slowly and with some shame "I will admit security wasn't exactly that good inside the building. We thought that the perimeter was of more importance so we just let it be. It seems Mikami capitalised on that."

Light blinked in shock "Mikami?"

"Yes, he was the one that planted the bomb."

"Teru Mikami."

Nate nodded in exasperation "Yes Teru Mikami, the Fourth Kira, X-Kira and whatever other alias you can think of."

Light leaned back into his bed. This was impossible; Mikami was stubborn to a fault and loyal until the end. He had proved that considering that he had been willing to kill himself for Light's benefit. The lawyer took pride in being seen as an extension of his will, how would the idea of betrayal even cross the fanatic's mind?

There was no way, nothing no matter how evil or vain that he took part in would convince Mikami that Light was wrong. The only thing that could even remotely shake Mikami was for Teru to have Light's flaws pointed out to him and spelled out to him after a failure. He knew that the man was a loose end, but to revolt this quick, it was out of the realm of possibility, how could this have happened?

Light's eye widened even more turning for a gap to a ravine "Near, when did you…"

The boy knew what he was talking about "When we were transferring you to the plane, I wanted an ace in the hole, I wasn't prepared to see L's legacy sullied because of the evidence failing to convict you or the court swinging in your favour."

Light frown became deeper and his eyes were now blazing in anger "You fool, you idiot, you imbecile! How dare you use such underhanded tactics?" Light sat up as straight as he could and looked Near straight in the eyes "Do you realise what you have done? Mikami's only tool is a hammer, and when you only have a hammer everything else looks like nails!"

Near was aware of what Mikami was capable of, he had demonstrated it a few days ago but his temper raised as well "How is he different from you? Last time I checked you crushed dissent brutally."

Light was frothing at the mouth in anger by this point, metaphorically of course, he shook his head in anger and disbelief before pointing at Near "Mikami doesn't crush dissent! He grinds it into dust. If the only "good" people on the earth were himself and one other person, he would have no qualms killing seven billion people! You don't jump into frigid water, you freeze! What could have possessed you to think he would be a capable ally?"

Near backed down, what Light was saying was true, and so the genius let out a sight "I know I was wrong, Mikami is already using gunboat diplomacy in a way you never did."

Light gulped slightly "How so?"

"The British government was purged completely; every Member of Parliament was killed. Each in specific ways." said Near still in disbelief. The genius looked up "Teru then said that every successive government that wasn't pro Kira would be killed off as well."

Light murmured lowly "My God, what of the rest?"

"The US, parts of South America and most of Western Europe are in resistance, and despite a purge of the government in Japan and China as well as here in the UK, they are still resisting. The SPK has it on good authority that the governments are staying alive via shadow presidents and congressmen. Simply put, they are running the country from behind the scenes."

Near continued onward "Most of Eastern Europe, the Balkans, India, Turkey, nearly all of the Middle East and all of Africa have keeled over to him. Turkey was holding on well, at least until Mikami killed their government for the third time."

"Russia gave in?" asked Light, remembering them as being particularly stubborn with him.

"Not exactly, they are an interesting case. They are the only country that has willingly voted in a pro-Kira government and therefore a good chunk of their economic zone has joined with them in their support for Mikami."

"Russia? Russia, a nation of oligarchs and crooks supports Mikami?" sighed Light incredulously. He snorted "Mikami won't show them any quarter just because they willingly supported him, he is certain to purge the country of what he sees as wrong."

"That much is true, and most of the oligarchs in Russia are now dead, but Mikami has allowed Russia to pressure its neighbours into joining a new economic and political Union in return for its support. They supported him even before this special relationship developed. The world would declare war on them, but Mikami is holding most of the world at gunpoint, so we can only stand by and watch. I think he wants another bargaining chip, and the threat of Russia is it. Somewhere along the line he realised that killing the governments hasn't defeated Western Europe, so he is trying to use Russia to cut them down to size." explained Near, with distaste.

"Is he still in this country?"

"We believe so; obviously however we can't find him. The evidence went cold after the one the evidence pointed toward helping Mikami shot himself, an agent of mine called Fred Booth. I suspect there was another, but I can't look into it anymore. The S.P.K is technically dead, and with it the case went cold. It is back to the original members of the group, with the exception of Lidner who was killed."

After mentioning the woman's end, the boy looked pained, but brushed it away quickly.

"Dead?" queried Light, with curiosity plain on his face.

"As I said you Light Yagami are dead." the younger man explained before gesturing to himself "I, Nate River, am also dead. That was the price to pay so that Mikami didn't kill us where we stood. It was still a gambit, but luckily the welcome addition of your mother crying about your supposed death as well as confirmation by several members of the UK government, and a televised funeral, managed to persuade him that we are dead. That or he is just toying with us."

"Teru doesn't toy; he likely thinks we are dead, or that we are no longer a threat. Probably the former, even if I was paralysed from the neck down he would kill me to minimise the risk. So you can take solace in that, but what are we to do now?"

"Surely you have heard the saying "the enemy of my enemy is my friend"?"

Light let out a barking laugh "Oh how the mighty have fallen! The God of the New World and the World's Greatest Detective, mortal enemies, forced to team up. You think we should join forces?"

Near nodded "According to my calculations our chances of beating Mikami would increase by forty five percent."

"From what original percentage?"

"Five."

That was a stunning admission for the boy to make; he was effectively stating that he stood no chance against Mikami and that Light was needed to even make it possible. It stoked Light's ego slightly.

Light chuckled dryly "You are so naïve; there is no way I would lower myself to helping you of all people, especially considering that you got me into this mess. Mikami is too powerful now; your only chance to defeat him is for him to write his own name in the Death Note which is as likely as hell freezing over."

"You are content to sit there and die?"

Light frowned "Who said anything about dying? I am content to go about the rest of my life on Earth without interruption. No amount of intelligence or scheming can help me now, my chances of being God are gone, you and Mikami have seen to that."

The original Kira lay back in his bed and glared at the ceiling "You have ruined it all, years of planning and preparation, thousands of lives, and for what? Just so you could proclaim to be the true successor to L. All of this, so much good undone for a petty ego trip!" Light slammed his clenched fist against the machine beside his bed "I hope Mikami kills you! That is my only hope now, so that I don't have to see your damned face again!"

Light was working himself into a frenzy that much was clear, his chance of becoming God was gone, and unlike the first time his hope was dashed, there was nothing he could do. There was no hope of being God as he wanted and now he was being asked to bend knee to the one who destroyed everything.

"I can't believe this, you have screwed over everything! You have taken my plans and ripped them to shreds! You wouldn't even let me win when it was clear I would! I could have brought about a golden age for humanity! No more wars, no more crime, a new renaissance! And you and your ego couldn't let that happen!" roared Light in bitter hatred.

Near kept calm and spoke softly "You are a child Light, you always have been and you still are."

The genius shot up and turned in anger "Child! Who the hell do you think you are? I won't have my maturity insulted by someone not only younger than me but who also plays with fucking toys!"

"You are throwing a tantrum Light, you lost and now you are throwing all of your toys out of the pram, the same as you did last time. You would doom the world to a dark age just because things aren't going your way."

"My way? My way is the only way! The inhabitants of this rotten world are sheep and I am the shepherd! They can't even govern themselves properly, they should feel privileged to have me rule over them, in the years I did rule, the economy was fine, there were no wars, and crime went down by seventy percent!'

Near countered sharply "It doesn't matter what you brought about, it wasn't natural, and so when you died it would have disappeared. Forcing crime to die was like putting pressure on a spring, when the pressure disappeared it would return almost immediately just as it had always been."

"Ha! What does it matter; I could have had a successor. Someone could have filled my shoes; someone far more adept than Mikami!"

"You wouldn't have ever allowed someone to supersede you Light, your arrogance wouldn't allow you to consider it. Even at the warehouse, you could have won if you hadn't screamed out to let us know you were writing our names down. That is your greatest flaw; while you may think my ego is large your own is colossal. You have to let others know that you are superior, you aren't content to not show your intelligence."

Light opened his mouth to retort, but even he recognised that the genius' words were true.

Light licked his lips which were dry and nodded slowly "You believe we can defeat Mikami?"

"We have a chance."

"We will be equals in this little venture, and you will make me another identity and ensure that I don't have to want for anything. In return, I will give you my help."

Near frowned, this deal was similar to the one he offered Mikami, he could only hope that Light would remain true to his word.

"Deal."

Light nodded "Alright, first things first, there will be no trying him this time, we are killing him the moment we are certain we can."

"Agreed."

"Get Matsuda to help, we need all the help we can get and Mikami likely won't care for him."

"Already done."

Light smiled slightly "Of course Matsuda jumps at the chance to be a hero again."

The First Kira thinking, what would Mikami do? He was a wild card, that was certain, and his moves would be hard to predict. However, he lacked the ability to plan as far ahead as he or Near could. All they had to do was prepare a strategy that would back him into a corner, and ensure that he was trapped by it.

The door into the room abruptly opened as a tall blonde man barged in "Near!"

"Yes Commander Rester?"

The man frowned as he informed the genius "Have you seen the news? Russia has just forced the Baltics states into U.F.M.S"

Near muttered under his breath in a sarcastic tone "Great."

Light spoke up "U.F.M.S?"

Near tiredly shook his head "The United Federation of Kiraist and Moralist States, or Kira's Federation as it has gone on to be called."

"Why is Russia acting this way? They have no more reason to take part in this than any other country."

This perked Rester, who had been standing slouched over after telling Near the news "The Russians have been in recession since just before your rule, the price of oil went down the gutter. It didn't recover until just recently, and it was one of the worst Russia has had in centuries, when I was discussing it back when I was in the C.I.A., one of my colleagues said it was worse than Russia after the fall of the Soviet Union."

"Interesting, but how does this involved their support for Mikami?" asked Light, although he could guess.

"By coincidence, the price of oil and steel has shot up again, mostly because the demand for plastics and fuel has gotten higher and Mikami did kill Saudi Arabia's entire Royal Family cutting off their trade. Anyways, this newly found success occurred shortly after Mikami purged the country of Oligarchs, so the Russian people attributed their newfound economic success directly to Kira. We don't know if he was smart enough to orchestrate this, but regardless it has happened."

"So Mikami has a loyal superpower at his back?"

"Yes."

Light pinched the bridge of his nose "And they know it is Mikami?"

"Yes, Mikami is actively being offered sanctuary in Russia, which explains why the Russians are incorporating Eastern Europe into a massive Union again."

"You can't mean-" asked Light only for his question to be answered.

"The Russians are extending the border to make it easier for him to get there. Ukraine and Belarus as well as Romania have given up and joined as well. With the Baltics having caved in that means the Balkans or Hungary are next. After that, Austria will be on the menu. Once Austria joins, Russia will have a foothold into Western Europe. Then, it is likely Mikami will make his way off Britain and make his grand escape."

Light laughed "That is ridiculous, there is no way the British government is allowing flights, and if he gets off by boat, he has to make it through France then Italy or Germany. He isn't going to get in."

"That is true, but we don't know how much longer the British Government will resist him, flights are currently still allowed, but he is being looked for and security is at full alert. The chances are, when it comes down to it and flights are closed Mikami will force the airports open, or he will have a decoy of some sort to get himself to continental Europe. Also, we are on an island, so the see is always a possible route. If he lands in the likes of Italy, he will have just made his trip infinitely easier."

Light sighed and nodded, the man's point was valid. It was unbelievable that so much had happened in only two weeks. He had caused similar havoc in a roughly comparable timescale before, but to see Mikami do it was… unnerving.

"Hyuk, it sure is going to hell out there isn't it?"

Light turned around in disdain staring at the Shinigami "Ryuk? What are you doing here?"

Ryuk raised his hands in defence "Well, to watch you of course, your little helper has decided he wants to take the reins, so I want to switch between the two to see what you will do to fight each other. So I decided I would give you this." The Shinigami withdrew his notebook, and pulled a page from it, before tearing a minute shaving from it, much too small to write on, and handing it to Light.

Light frowned at the offering which had fallen into the palm of his hand "What's this Ryuk?"

Ryuk chuckled "One small piece from the Death Note, so technically speaking you own this one." He waved in the air to emphasize before reattaching it his hip "Just a little trinket that will allow us to keep in touch, after all, it won't be long before the notebook by all rights is no longer yours. I don't know if that will have any effects, but the last thing I want is for a pal like you to be out of my reach."

Near stared at the Death God in interest "You know where Mikami is?"

Ryuk nodded excitedly "Sure I do, I watch what he is up to every once in a while."

Near sighed, it was as likely as pig's flying but he had to give it a shot "Could you tell us where?"

Ryuk's grin widened into that of a shark's before wagging his finger in a disappointed fashion "No can do, that wouldn't be very fair to Mikami. Besides, you just want to ruin the fun."

"And what about you, will you tell him about us?"

Ryuk shook his head "What Mikami doesn't know won't hurt him, well not yet anyways, besides I don't think he cares about any of L's successors at the moment."

It wasn't that out of the question. Considering that Mikami's foreign policy seemed to consist of killing off governments until they saw eye to eye with him, he probably didn't think that the detectives were that much of a threat anymore.

The Shinigami coughed slightly before smirking "Well, I think I want to pop off and do other things." He raised his hand a made a "thumbs up" gesture to Light "I am rooting for you Light, course, I don't think that really matters."

And with that he was gone.

Light smiled slightly, he did love a challenge.

"Well Near, where do we start?"

* * *

Mikami drummed his fingers along the surface of the desk he was currently seated at observing the small television in front of him with scrutiny.

"In recent news, the Governments, of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia have joined the United Federation of Kiraist and Moralist States. This comes as no surprise considering the referendums suggesting a Pro-Kira majority as well as diplomatic pressure from their neighbours, we also-" the Television droned on, but it had said all that Mikami was interested in.

The Baltics were another roadblock that had been removed, it would take just a little more time, but soon he would be able to retreat into Eurasia, and become politically and almost literally untouchable.

The phone rang, as Mikami looked to it in interest, it was a small cell phone, that had the number of Barnes on it. The man rang every so often to inform him of what was going on, as well as to tell him how to use certain things in the safe house they were in.

Mikami slowly picked it up and accepted the call "Hello?"

"Hey, Mikami it's me, I am just calling up to tell you that the Russian President has been looking to get into contact with you. Do you want to speak to him?"

An interesting offer, but ultimately it was far too risky for now. He couldn't use a mobile to contact him because that was traceable, and although he was relying on the Russian President's support he couldn't rule out the possibility of betrayal or the man using him for his own gains.

Mikami spoke softly but with a tone of authority "Tell him it is too dangerous for me to do so at this moment in time, however I can speak to him via you, as long as both you and the President find this agreeable?"

There was silence on the end before an audible "sure" was heard.

"Oh and Barnes, tell me, have you confirmed the S.P.K's dissolution?"

Mikami looked at a small window, shuttered up, but some light was shining in on him. It was a particularly sunny day.

"Yeah, they are gone. With Near dead, and considering the Kira they were created to capture is dead as well, there is little to no reason for them to exist. I can say confidently that there will be no new successor as well, the orphanage is scared stiff of you considering you were on site."

Mikami nodded and stood up "Very good, remember to call me if there are any developments. Once I get out of this country, you will no longer need to worry about me. Then, I can go about doing God's work."

"Alright, well best of luck then." came a soft response from the receiver, before a click cut off the call.

Teru frowned, ever since he had escaped the trial, Barnes had become far meeker. He was worried the man was becoming a loose end, one that he might need to tie.

Teru grabbed the Death Note, before carefully checking the names of those he had written down. He had a new schedule, except when he was purging a government; three hundred and fifty criminals were to be purged each day. His union of states made their list of convicted criminal's public with pictures and names available to see online. They made sure that he was able to keep this quota.

He was quite proud of the creation he had fashioned. From the ruins of corrupt and decadent states he had created a moralistic superpower, which had his favour and therefore God's too. They followed his laws, and applied his own rulings to those he missed.

Things were going well.

Light Yagami was dead, killed in the bomb he had orchestrated. Mikami had his doubts in the beginning, it was hard to believe that the bastard was truly dead, but weeks had passed as well as a funeral and several confirmations by the government. His mother had even confirmed that he was dead, whilst in tears on the television. He really was gone.

Teru smiled slightly, this was so simple now that he and that detective were gone. It was a matter of time now.

Teru suddenly coughed hacking dryly before shaking his head in disbelief, two weeks since the explosion and his lungs had yet to recover.

"Uh, Teru? I've set out the dinner, you coming?" said Claude staring at him lethargically.

The man nodded before tucking the notebook into the pocket of the jacket he was wearing and following the boy to the small kitchen area.

It was some French dish, he had no clue what it was or how it was pronounced, the boy had decided that his heritage and honour demanded that he make his home country's cuisine, and the internet allowed him access to the world's largest cookbook.

He carefully picked up the knife and fork, something that was understandably quite foreign to him and cut into the meat slowly before placing it in his mouth and chewing on it.

The boy looked up waiting for something. And while he hadn't asked, Mikami was aware of what he wanted; it was the same thing every child craves.

Mikami swallowed before clearing the crumbs from his lips with a napkin before nodding "It was quite nice, thank you."

The boy smiled before changing the topic "So the Baltics have joined, that makes things easier doesn't it?"

Teru nodded "Quite so, it increases the reach of the border, the closer it gets, the safer we are."

C frowned impatiently "We could make it now if we tried. With the trains of Europe, it would take at worst a week to get across all of it."

The Fourth Kira shook his head "No, it is too risky now. In an ideal world, I would move once France and Germany cave in, but I don't think that is happening any time soon. In fact, it isn't going to happen as long as I am on these isles." He tapped the table to keep the wandering attention of the boy, who was beginning to zone out even as Teru answered the question he asked "The plan is to move once Austria caves, then France or Italy, although dangerous, will provide a short route in which minimises risk."

"Oh?" the boy looked up at the mention of France.

Teru shook his head in disbelief "We are not staying in France."

"But why not?"

This topic was a frequent discussion, despite being so "afraid" of the outside world, once the boy had had his taste, he wanted more and more. He was a glutton for knowledge now, and wanted to visit France desperately.

"Because the French Government is hostile to me, the little Shadow ensemble they have set up to keep the affairs running refuses to bow to me. The French police are looking for me, and I will win no favours or support by killing the Police Nationale and therefore nothing short of one hundred and fifty thousand people most of who are likely innocent."

"Just one day."

"One day? One day could mean success or failure, one day could mean life or death, one day could mean that I bring about a pure world, or leave it in a worse state than before."

The boy nodded and seemed to leave it be, however he legitimately seemed upset about the entire issue.

Teru knew the look, something of emotional importance to the boy was present in France, and he wanted to see it.

One Day.

He was going to regret this.

Teru coughed dryly before curtly nodding "Very well, I suppose half a day can be allowed, but no more. And if I even sense we are in danger, we will be gone before you can even think about it."

It wasn't just sympathy that played a part in his concession, by slowing down slightly, he would be far less predictable and therefore harder to find.

Teru absently pulled out the notebook and began to scribble down the names he had on a separate printed piece of paper, it was slightly inefficient he was aware, but having the names on hand meant that he could kill in sections and therefore at different times the Death Note's ability to cause death at a particular time was incredibly useful in this regard, besides, he had memorised the pictures. No one said that he had to do it all at once.

C frowned as Teru began to write in the book, it was disturbing to see the effect on the man. It always began slowly; his lips would twitch about every fifth name, as C had measured out. Then after the thirtieth approximately, the twitches would blossom into a smile which would grow into a grin. Then it truly became disconcerting, the man would mutter to himself in his native tongue repeating the same word over and over again, laughing and grinning as well as scanning to room whilst doing so; worst of all sometimes when he was holding that book, he would start speaking to someone, when there was no one there.

It scared Claude immensely, and yet Teru was so, well, bland for lack of a better word at times. The book made him into a different man.

"Delete." muttered Mikami writing down yet another name, out of the corner of his eye he could see Beyondermason, watching with an interested grin.

Teru looked at him "What do you need?"

"Nothing, just watching an artist working with his easel."

"Flattery will get you nowhere, besides I doubt that that you would become visible for no better reason than to look at me write names down."

Beyondermason laughed lowly "No getting anything by you, no? Well, I did come to say that I think that you won't find this as easy as you might think. Sure the world might be and apple in the palm of your hand, but it is biting back. That, and there will always be someone who will stand up to you."

Mikami nodded "Let them, and then perhaps the world will learn a lesson when I crush them."

C frowned, there it was, the conversation with the being that wasn't there.

"Hoho, confident are we not? Well, I can't say I am surprised you are currently the most powerful person on this planet."

"I overcame Light and Near, nothing else frightens me as much as they did, all I need do is remain cautious and temper my aggressive actions with thoughtful political moves. This game will be won through blood and speeches, that is the deaths of those who oppose and the support of those who don't."

Beyondermason nodded "I suppose that is accurate enough."

"Of course it is, humanity needs politics to govern it and therefore the government must be melted down and remoulded to make this work."

C worked up the courage, this time he was going to snap the man out of it. He gulped and stood up.

"And what are you on the political field then, a King or a pauper?"

Close grabbed on to the book, taking it from the man's grasp."

Mikami looked at him in surprise before muttering to himself "I am the hand of God. As I always have been."

C turned away from him closing his eyes and speaking slowly but forcefully "You have to stop doing that, talking to people who aren't there, there is nobody in this room but you and I."

He turned around and opened his eyes "It isn't healthy for you-" before staring at the golden skeleton standing beside Mikami which was looking at him in interest.

He promptly fainted.

Beyondermason tutted "Oh dear."

Mikami sighed; he really should have mentioned the Shinigami earlier.

* * *

Well, this is the first time I have done an Author's note, but I suppose it is useful to have them so that I can tell you things. I am sorry this chapter took so long; it wasn't writer's block or lack of interest, just a deficit of time. I feel bad considering that this chapter didn't take really that long once I sat down and actually began writing it, but finding the time to actually do that uninterrupted and without constraints was bothersome. I won't predict when the next chapter will be; hopefully it will come at a faster pace than this one did. I do have a lot of things to do, but they will be coming to an end soon, so there is that. Well, see you soon hopefully.


	14. Coming of Age

"So what do we know about Mikami at this point in time?" asked Light as he sat in front of the small computer. It was nothing compared to the ones he and Near had used whilst they were trying to outwit each other, but resources were an issue. They would have to make do.

Near sighed "We don't have much to go on, I can say confidently he is still in the United Kingdom and that he is likely still in England, but I can't hazard a guess as to where he is. We don't have the luxury of looking for him with the S.P.K, if he even considered the thought that we were alive, he would write our names down in an instant."

Light tapped his chin in thought before nodding slowly "Bring up a map would you, a world one."

Near looked at him for a second before nodding "Whilst I am getting this on screen explain why you need the map of the world."

"How much do you know about geography Near?" asked Light whilst staring impatiently at the screen.

Near frowned in displeasure for a moment "Very little, I know the countries of Europe and the North America and Oceania. I couldn't tell you the names of countries in South America, Asia or Africa."

Light nodded before smiling "Ah, there it is." He pointed with his index finger to a small island off the coast of the far east of Russia. He turned to Near "That is Sakhalin. There is a big history behind it but basically Russia and Japan argue over who Sakhalin really belongs to. My government buried the hatchet after the Second World War. It is the Russians who have people that live on the island, so that means that it is now part of Kira's Federation no?"

Near nodded staring at the map in interest, he looked at like his face indicating for the other to continue.

"Now if I know Mikami, he hates being in foreign environments, it conflicts with his idea of a schedule and order. He doesn't want to stay here in Europe any longer than he has to. He will beeline back to Japan without a doubt."

Near caught on quickly "So Sakhalin allows him to get through easily. But surely there will be a border control."

Light lit up in a bit of childish pride of knowing more "Not so, all residents of Sakhalin and Japan can travel between the islands without a Visa. And if he has the backing of Kira's Federation, it won't be hard for him to alter his appearance slightly and obtain the necessary documentation. The distance from Sakhalin to Hokkaido, which is part of Japan, is only eight hundred kilometres give or take. In other words a five hour ferry trip."

Near looked impressed "How do you know all of this?"

"They have a film festival over there, Sayu and I went to see it a few years ago." explained Light before nodding to himself "So Mikami now has a ticket straight to Japan. I can't remember if you told me, do they have a Pro-Kira government?"

"No, Japan feels guilt for being the home country of Teru, and so is taking a hard-line response to him. Mikami hasn't purged their government bizarrely." explained Near "If I was to be honest, I think he is doing it for his ego, he wants his home country to willingly accept his rule."

Light nodded in agreement "You could be right, Mikami would see it as beneficial to have another country accept his rule, and remember when I left Japan they had a staunchly Pro-Kira populace."

The original Kira stood up and began to pace the small room thinking to himself "If we want to catch Mikami we need to beat him to Sakhalin."

Near smiled slightly "You realise that taking a plane really isn't an option, we are going to have to make ourselves look different and go by train. All it takes is for someone to take a picture of us and upload it to a social media site, and we will be suffering cardiac arrests within the day. If we look at it optimistically the distance from Paris to Vladivostok is easily twelve thousand miles probably much more."

Light blinked in surprise "I thought you said you weren't good at geography?"

"I'm not, that is just a statistic that I remember from a book I read a long time ago."

"Well, Teru has to cross that distance as well Near. Besides, we need to make the first move not the second, Teru will likely leave a trail of crumbs for us to follow yes, but it is too risky that we will lose him." said Light as he stood up, before walking to the door "It would be foolish for us to wait for a sign he has left here, as we would only waste our efforts."

Near nodded and kneeled down collecting some books he had brought with him "I was talking with Roger earlier, he mentioned that L has left some resources we could access if we needed it."

Light raised his eyebrow "What could L have that will help us with Mikami? I never made use of him whilst L was alive."

Near shrugged, and he left it at that. He didn't really need to say anymore, they would take what they could get.

Wait.

He hadn't told Light yet.

Near blinked before coughing and speaking up again "Light, I was waiting for the right time to tell you, but if I wait any longer it will be more of a shock. Misa's dead."

Light stared at Near for a moment with an indiscernible emotion. He blinked several times and looked away from Near before nodding slowly and looking back.

"That's alright; she was of no use to me anyways."

The white haired boy opened his mouth in shock "How can she say that? Didn't you love her?"

Light laughed lowly "Don't be absurd Near." The man laughed again before shaking his head and looking at the boy "And don't act like you are surprised by my reaction. You and I both damn well know that I don't care for anyone or anything other than myself. Misa was a means to an end, nothing more. She was becoming a hindrance to be honest; tell me did she off herself upon hearing of my death or did Teru do her in?"

"I don't know. Teru could have made her commit suicide." answered the detective before stopping to think to himself.

This wasn't right, how could another human treat someone else like this. He knew Light was cold, but how could he treat Misa this way?

"Say Near, how much have you read up how L tried to corner me?" asked Light with a smirk almost like he was remembering it fondly.

"Well sufficiently I suppose, I know his tactics enough to use them if they were needed. Why?"

"What do you say we use an old strategy and see if it works?"

Near nodded, putting aside his earlier thoughts "Go ahead and show me."

* * *

Mikami stared blankly at the screen, Kira's Federation's list of criminals would update in two minutes, and he was waiting until then.

He had agreed with Close to move out in two days' time preferably in the night. The less they were seen the better, it didn't matter if the United Kingdom was multi-cultural the public would be on the lookout for an Asian like himself. He needed to keep his head down and out of sight.

He let out a sigh and felt his body creak in protest as he got up. That explosion had done more damage than he thought it had. He was finding it hard to move around quite like he used to.

A harsh cough racked his body as Mikami gripped the table for support. He was getting irritated by this persistent cough which had stuck to him like white on rice. It was painful to say the least and would always leave him tired after.

He refreshed the page once more, and it wiped itself and replaced the old text and pictures with new faces and writing. Teru opened the Death Note and began writing in it slowly, smiling as he began to flood the paper with names.

"Vladimir Kotznin." muttered Teru to himself before scraping the word onto the page. As he finished the name and looked to the next he began to cough once more rasping in discomfort.

Teru shook his head and gulped in air, this wasn't right. He must be sick.

He looked around for a moment before speaking in low voice "Close?"

Silence.

"Close?" this time Mikami spoke more forcefully.

Still more silence.

Teru got up and walked around trying to see where he had got to, the safe house wasn't that big. He had to be in one of the rooms.

Teru opened the door to the room Close had chosen as his and noticed the boy sitting there, reading a book. X-Kira shook his head, the boy needed to do other things; all C ever did was read and cook. It was time he learned to do something useful.

"Close."

Claude looked up "Yes Mikami?"

The boy stared at Teru; he looked like the life in him was trying to get out of him. Claude had been with Mikami long enough to know that the man was neat and consistent; he didn't like to look in a bad shape. However, he was looking so sickly recently that the well-kept clothes did nothing to help him.

The man stared at him, and for a moment Claude felt as if the eyes were ripping him apart. He could feel them pierce him like a sword, it was terrifying.

"If you want to stay in France for that a short period of time, then you are going to have to work for it." muttered Teru pinching the bridge of his nose.

Claude was surprised, not just by Mikami bringing that up, but by the obvious signs of exhaustion the man was showing were kind of disconcerting. Teru was a machine, he didn't feel tired.

"I want you to write down the names of the people on the screen for me, can you do that?"

Claude gulped slightly; he had known this day was coming. There was no way you could stay this close to Kira without it becoming a part of you as well. He knew what his purpose was to Mikami, he was the one that would take over when he died. He hadn't really expressed interest in it, but Teru hadn't really presented any other alternative.

It wasn't like he was averse to doing it; he could care less about anyone else. If Teru thought they were evil, then what did it matter if they died? It was just … different. He wasn't wishing them dead, he was killing them. There was no two-ways about it. Well, maybe he was averse to it.

"Sixteen is a young age to start killing at." muttered Claude looking at him.

Teru blinked before considering it, sixteen was a young age to be killing at, but he had to learn now. He couldn't have the boy waiting around until he was eighteen.

Teru thought long and hard ravaging his mind for words of encouragement that he needed to say. Some words of advice he could offer. After a minute he spoke.

"Do you understand the value of human life?"

Close looked up at him in shock. That was a big question to ask. Of course he knew there was a value to human life. That was the way things were. He knew that killing people for no reason was wrong. It was something that just wasn't done. He knew it, he did.

But he couldn't say anything. No matter how much he thought or looked around, no answer was forthcoming. Nothing was there.

Teru nodded to himself as if he had confirmed something he had known all along  
"The death of one is a tragedy, and the death of a million? A statistic. People don't feel sad over the death of thousands, they feel shock and horror. Why? Why is it that people don't feel sad?"

It was a rhetorical question, but a single look at Close's eyes proved he didn't know the answer.

"It is because there is no intrinsic value to human life. We are born. We die. Those are the two absolutes that God made. There are two things every person on this planet will go through, life and death. There is no escape."

Close perked up and listened, this was unusually heavy stuff for Mikami to be saying. It was like the other man was ridding himself and expelling everything he felt he needed to say.

"When an infant dies, the family and friends feel remorse. Why? We cry for the child that we didn't truly know and who was in many ways not even intelligent. But we cry anyways, we cry because it's sad that they never reached their potential. People even decades after that baby has died will think to themselves and wonder what the child could've have become and what it could've been."

Close nodded slowly, it was brutal but he did understand was Teru was saying. It was a hard pill to swallow, but the man seemed to be trying to teach him something.

"Humans were optimists. In general when we think of that child who died, never to reach their potential, we never say "that child could've grown up to be a killer." And yet some children who do survive grow up and do become killers. Why? Is it nature or nurture Close?"

"Nurture."

"A trick question, it is both."

Close's eyes widened "What do you mean? How can it be that it is both?"

Teru frowned and didn't speak for a minute almost as if he had to force himself to spit out the words.

"A killer is inherently selfish. As a race we throw this around a lot Close, but selfishness is wrong. God has made us to be concerned about ourselves yes, but also others. Killers don't care for anything but themselves. They don't think about anything but themselves. Why?"

Close shook his head "I don't know?"

He did.

Mikami was undeterred "Why Claude?"

He didn't.

"I don't know!"

Mikami was getting near to him and was looking down at him "You do. I know you do. You are intelligent, don't pretend you are not."

"But I-"

"You do know. You should know because you barely had any interaction with people for the whole sixteen years of your life."

Close was wracking his head for anything he could give the man but was drawing up blanks. His brain was a mush.

Teru leaned forward looking him in the eyes "You didn't want to go out to see the real world. Why?"

Something Claude could answer.

"Because the outside world is terrifying, People expect so much of you, and you can be killed at any moment by anyone."

There was a look of satisfaction in Mikami's eyes. Close knew he was getting somewhere.

"Did you come to that conclusion out of the blue? Did you get up one day and decide that that the real world was scary?"

Of course not.

"No."

"No you didn't. You came to a conclusion because?"

"Because I had researched it. Because I had heard so many stories. Because I was being realistic."

Teru leaned back, and Close could feel the pressure ease. He drank air and let out a sigh of relief.

"That is your answer. Realism. Killers are realists; they don't look at things for what they could be but what they are. They don't see what people could be or could go on to do. They see them for what they are and for what they did do. They don't care for others because realistically they feel that they will never benefit them. Not one killer takes someone's life considering that that man may go on to save him. They don't work that way."

Close got it now.

"The value of life is what we make it, whether it has been done or will go on to be done. Realists however can only see what has been done, not what could be done. Life is precious yes, it is given to us by God, but we have the right to take it away if it is abused. Life isn't a right, it is a privilege. Thousands die from starvation a minute, and yet the world saves those who care nothing for it. These people believe that there is no point to any life but their own. We house them, we feed them and we try to 'rehabilitate' them. Is there not something wrong with this? Why feed the guilty when the innocent starve?"

Teru shifted slightly an indiscernible expression across his face "And do you notice the potential that each and every one of us has to be like that? Any one of us can decide to become a realist. It happens all the time. We feel shock and horror over the deaths of thousands, but the world is saturated with it. In Japan I can remember walking down the street with hearing the news broadcast mentioning an Earthquake killing a hundred people in the Kanto. No one batted an eye. Why care about people in the Kanto? They aren't us. If they had a friend in the Kanto, then they would worry, but in this world of ours if it doesn't have to do with them it is of no consequence."

"So it's our fault? Our fault that the world is so corrupt?"

"Yes, we have all forgotten the value behind human life; morals no longer persuade others to help their common man. That is why I do what I do, for the true moralist revival I want to occur to actually take place. It is necessary that fear is used. I am not thinking in the short-term. Humanity needs to see the best in people again, it needs to be optimistic and take each life to be worth something. Humanity has been divided for too long. They will unite under me. That is what is going to have to take place to eradicate crime and usher forward utopia. History shows, struggle brings about unity and the best in people. If a drug addict doesn't want to go to rehab you force him. Why should the world be any different?"

A pin dropped.

Close nervously looked at Mikami "But killing the corrupt and evil, isn't that being realistic? We are judging them based on what they are, not on what they could be."

The gaze Mikami gave him was horrifying; he could feel the man's eyes raking across his being. There was something cold and detached behind those eyes. Something that scared Claude.

"Vladimir Kotznin."

Claude blinked in surprise "What?"

"Vladimir Kotznin, arrested and found guilty for the murder of his entire family along with the rape of his five year-old child."

Claude looked at him "What do you mean?"

"Enrico Sanchez arrested for the attempted robbery of an elderly man in broad daylight. When he couldn't get the man's wallet off him, he smashed his head into the ground and then took it."

"I get that these men are horrifying bu-"

Teru looked at him before shaking his head silencing him "Abdul Al-Assad, organised suicide bombings which killed 100 people in a busy shopping mall in Kenya. He was responsible for the stoning of a Christian youth for not accepting Islam as the one true faith. Do you know what is common between all of these cases?"

"No."

"Vladmir Kotznin, served five years for domestic abuse, released in two and a half years for good behaviour. Enrico Sanchez, served four months for petty shoplifting. Abdul Al-Assad, implicated in a plot to destroy a bus in downtown Nairobi, released due to lack of evidence."

Mikami turned to exit before thinking to himself and turning "There is the fine line between optimism and naivety. Nobody has been able to draw that line by themselves, so I am doing it for them." He looked at Close "Think about it."

Teru exited the room leaving the door open behind him. The invitation was clear. Whenever Claude felt like it, he could.

Claude shakily climbed to his feet, and walked through the doorway. This was a big decision to make, one that there was no turning back from. You could repay what you stole, repair what you broke but you could never resurrect those who you had killed.

This was final.

He laughed nervously and ran a hand through his hair. This kind of thing was not what he thought about on his average day.

"What's the matter boy?"

Claude fell back, it was that golden creature. A 'Shinigami' Teru had called it.

Claude exhaled sharply and inhaled before staring warily at it "What do you want?"

The creature stared motionlessly at him, it didn't breath speak or move. It just stared. After an eternity of looking the thing in its face it opened its mouth.

"You to tell me what's wrong." the creature gestured to the computer screen only ten feet away from his room. "It is only a couple of steps away."

Claude stared at the length of the distance "It looks like a mile to me."

He couldn't do this. He couldn't do this. He didn't have the guts to kill someone else. It wasn't in him. He wasn't a killer. He wasn't a realist.

He wasn't.

A golden finger pointed just under his chin "You don't think you can do it do you? You don't think it's in you?"

"I know it's not in me."

The Shinigami let out a rasping laugh which was neither malevolent nor good-humoured. Claude could only describe it as the laughter one has when they see or hear something absurd.

The laugh stopped and the Shinigami smiled "Boy, you wouldn't be the first to say that they could never kill with the Death Note. But do you want to know something?"

Claude wanted to disappear.

"They all do, no one escapes the grasp of it boy. It is addictive, I have seen saints, sinners, kings and beggars all succumb to its influence. It is beyond your understanding just how powerful a Death Note is."

Claude stared expressionlessly at the ground, wishing he could ignore the Death God's words.

"I'll help you if you want."

Claude didn't look, but he could feel the Shinigami ushering him to the desk, or at least he thought he did.

He sat down and waited for the Shinigami to speak.

"I understand that his is hard for you, so I am going to make it easy for you."

The God of Death pointed to the screen "I want you to point out a name, and I will write it down for you."

Claude looked at him in horror.

"If you ever want to get to visit your precious France you need to get with the program. You and I both know you are only around as long as Mikami deems you useful. If you can do this, then you will get to visit wherever you wish, if you don't then you will be stuck here in this place forever."

He didn't gesture to the room around them but instead pointed to his head.

Claude looked away and hesitantly pointed to the screen.

A small chuckle was his response.

"Karolina Vitkus."

The sound of writing could be heard as the Shinigami went about killing the woman.

"You did well, don't worry, I can tell you that in my experience humans find it easier each time. Soon it will become second nature to you, and you will no longer fear anything."

The Death God disappeared, leaving Claude to his thoughts.

The boy couldn't help it, he hadn't wanted to look at her, but he knew he had to.

He turned around and scanned down the page. Where was she? Who was she? He surveyed the hundreds of names, each leading their own lives and having their own personalities, all confined to a name and a face.

There she was. Under the second row at the 35th column.

He needed to know more. What did she do? Who had she killed? What had she stolen? He needed to know, he needed to know he had done the right thing.

He clicked into her name, opening another page. Various important and yet useless details scattered the page, her job, address, her email address and her date of birth.

 **Crime: Involved in the Baltic A.K.A**

The Baltic A.K.A? What was that?

He opened up another window typing the words into a search engine and waiting for results. The feelings of fear and regret were throttling him,

" **The A.K.A stands for the 'Anti-Kira Association, a peaceful protesting organisation which opposes Kira and the spread of Kira's Federation. It has branches in over one hundred and eighty countries."**

He couldn't breathe. He hadn't killed a killer or a thief. He had killed a protestor. He had killed an innocent person.

Tears began to pour down Claude's face, he grabbed his hair and pulled, he couldn't take this. It was too much.

And as the tears washed away what innocence Claude had left, Mikami watched leaning against a wall before turning and going into his room.

He would learn.

Teru wiped the blood away from his mouth.

He had to.


End file.
